


Of Latte's and Lingerie

by andtheyweredeskmates (Shelbylea2599), Shelbylea2599



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, MLB coffee shop au, Slow Burn, crack fic?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:09:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 34,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shelbylea2599/pseuds/andtheyweredeskmates, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shelbylea2599/pseuds/Shelbylea2599
Summary: Marinette goes to Dunn Bros Coffee Shop because she has has so much work to do and Adrien goes to Dunn Bros Coffee Shop because nobody does Mocha Frappes like Dunn Bros
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 175
Kudos: 253





	1. What is Normal?

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a concept in an old folder on my laptop I haven't opened in years. It's finals and my job just opened back up so I don't really know how often I'll be able to update so if I get a lot of feedback, I'll try to stay on top of it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dunn Bros Coffee cured Marinette's depression and anxiety with just one sip

Dunn Bros Coffee shop was the most relaxing environment Marinette could manage to find in her busy city. It was nestled in between the quiet back alley of a road that encased the definition of bustle, and a neighborhood that screamed snotty. But Dunn’s had a way of repelling the noise and excitement. Upon walking in there was the distinct smell of coffee and relief that hit just right so that all the kinks in Marinette’s neck seem to ease out with a sigh. She walked in, dropped her things in her seat and ordered her coffee at the counter. Dunn’s just seemed to be an unspoken gathering of fantastic human beings. Not that Marinette would really know. The most she ever spoke was to the barista when she ordered her usual although sometimes even ordering required no words. Tim always knew what she needed and that included when her eyebags indicated the necessity of a double shot. There was the occasional smile between her and the hot blonde boy who sat in the corner near the window but when she walked into Dunn’s it was because she had work to do. She didn’t come in for the company, though the quiet warmth that lingered was welcoming and enticing. When she was especially overwhelmed she’d take her headphones out and people watch to the folk music that played in the background. But that usually only happened about once a week and typically for about 10 minutes before her anxiety overtook her and she had to get back to the problem. Problem, typically taking the form of an also anxiety-stricken boss.

Marinette loved her job. Truly. She was constantly surrounded by beauty and fabric and sketch pads and creativity. But where the creative mind took shelter, so also did the chaotic mind. Every day she was met with impossible dead lines and over the top, dramatic, break downs and every day Marinette met the dead line and endured the responsibility of comforting the most ridiculous of people. Most of her work was done to satisfy the mainstream and Marinette took comfort that there were plenty of people wearing what she designed. But her true passion lay in creating something new and unseen. Her boss called it an “adorable hobby” but prompted her to spend her time researching what was being demanded.

Dunn’s seemed to accept that she had deadlines and anxiety and crazy people in her life and just let her be. She loved that about Dunn’s. So sitting her usual corner booth with coffee overpowering her nose and music filling her ears, Marinette sat content and continued her work. She did all the paperwork, matched all the right designs, and even whipped out her sewing kit to fix a stitch on a blouse that had been bothering her all day. She found time and peace to do all the things she needed to do. She glanced around the coffee shop, her eyes drifted aimlessly to the hot blonde boy who sat in the corner near the window. She didn’t know anything about him. Just that he was hot, blonde, a boy, and that he always sat in the corner near the window. Usually alone. But not today. Today there was another blonde though she did not look as particularly kind as the hot blonde boy who sat in the corner near the window. She had an impenetrable attitude that said she deserved to be worshipped and she knew it. Sometimes Marinette wished she could carry confidence like that. She knew she was pretty and she knew other people thought so but she didn’t know how to make it work for her or how to get the right people to notice.

Marinette watched the two for a few minutes, trying to decide their dynamic. There was a certain mutual admiration. The confident blonde girl that sat in the corner near the window, touched the hot blonde boy that sat in the corner near the window, often. She squeezed his hand, affectionately ran her fingers through his hair, smoothed wrinkles from his shirt almost subconsciously. Marinette wished she could see the hot blonde boy’s face. He seemed to hide it in the corner near the window. It was obvious he didn’t mind the confident blonde girl but without seeing his eyes Marinette could not determine if he enjoyed it.

With the shake of her head, Marinette snapped out of her daze. It did not matter if he enjoyed it. It did not matter who they were, what they did, or why they did it. She didn’t know them so it certainly was not her business. Marinette floated to the counter debating if she really should have another coffee. She was so used to having late nights she was unsure of what the caffeine protocol was when there was a possibility of sleep. The barista, Tim, cocked his head a little.

“Are you confused?” Marinette just chuckled nervously.

“Sorry, it’s just, I finished my work and I don’t know what to do.” Tim chuckled back.

“Well typically people relax. Or go home.” Marinette nodded.

“Home isn’t as relaxing as here.” Tim just smiled.

“Well I can understand that. I’ll make you a cup of peppermint hot chocolate. Caffeine isn’t good for sleeping.” He turned around without another word and carried out his task. Marinette didn’t dare question him. Other people knew better how to do “normal” than she did. While she waited, her eyes wandered back to the blonde pair in the corner near the window. She still couldn’t see the blonde boy’s face. She found herself wishing that the blonde girl would leave. Marinette laughed to herself.

Leave it to her to get attached to people she didn’t even know. She thought about saying hello to the boy. There was a certain comradery there. They always saw each other sitting in their respective seats and Marinette always daydreamed about him when she had the time. But Marinette wasn’t good with strangers and she especially wasn’t good with hot strangers. Alya would probably laugh if she heard what Marinette was thinking.

“Girl,” she would say. “That’s literally your job, to deal with hot strangers.” But most of the people she worked with weren’t really strangers. Most of the models she worked with were the same to the point where she kind of felt like she knew them all. And she understood it. They had impossible standards to meet and incredible pressure. They were concerned about doing their job and doing it right. It wasn’t their fault it required them to be obsessed with their image. Maybe a little too obsessed.

“One peppermint hot chocolate for Marinette.” There she was, daydreaming again. She went to grab her drink when her phone started ringing. Her boss.

“Hello?” She thanked Tim silently and picked her drink up from the counter.

“Marinette!? Where the hell are you? Your deadline was fifteen minutes ago?”

“What are you talking about Audrey?”

“The lingerie line! The one we were presenting to Gabriel Agreste next month? Don’t tell me you forgot?”

“Of course not Mrs. Bourgeois, I gave it to my assistant yesterday to send to you this morning.”

“Well, its not here!” Marinette sighed.

“I’m coming. I’ll be there in just a minute.” She hung up the phone and hurried to her corner gathering her things. Another restless night. Same shit, different day.

…

“So Adrien, did you hear about the line my mother is doing for your father?” Adrien took a sip of his coffee.

“No, what is it Chloe?” That was lie but it was best to just let her talk.

“It’s a lingerie line. Mother says if I lose a few inches around the waist I might get to model one of the designs at the launch party in a few weeks. Isn’t that great?”

“Chloe you don’t need to lose a few inches around the waist. You look fine the way you are.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

“You know for someone in the industry you seem to know nothing about fashion. Women need to be at least a size zero to look good in anything. Anyone who knows anything knows that.”

“Then maybe designers should make things that actually look good on normal people.” Chloe sighed.

“You could try being at least a little bit supportive Adrien.”

“I am!” Adrien protested.

“No you’re complaining again about how unfair life is. ‘Woe is me, my father is a world famous designer and all his designs are so exclusive, the humanity’!” Chloe mocked Adrien, a hand to her forehead in fake distress.

“Now who’s not being supportive?”

“Whatever. I have to go. Try not to mope to much while I’m gone, You’ll get worry lines.” Chloe ruffled Adrien’s hair as she walked away.

Adrien sighed. He looked to the opposite corner and saw that Marinette was gone. He knew her but she didn’t seem to know him so he felt awkward saying hi. He knew that she designed for Chloe’s Mom. His father spoke highly of her. He even commissioned that lingerie line from Marinette herself. Not that he would tell Chloe that. It was obvious that she was too wrapped up in her own little world to think much of anyone outside her bubble.

Adrien checked his phone.

1 New Message.

DJ Bubbler:

**Dude you have to come over, I found a black cat on my patio and I don’t know what to do with it!**

Adrien laughed. Same shit, different day.


	2. The Pussy and the Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien finds a pussy cat and Marinette's boss is kind of a bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay the title of this chapter sounds a lot dirtier than it is. I'm very vulgar I'm really sorry it's just who I am.

“What’s his name?”

Nino scratched his head.

“Uh, I dunno dude, it’s a cat.”

“Cat’s have names too ya know.” Adrien rolled his eyes.

“What is he eating?’

“Cheese! Its kinda all I have in my fridge right now.” Adrien got a little closer to the ravenous black cat, that was absolutely devouring the piece of Camembert in front of him.

“Nino, do you know anything about cats?”

“No! It’s not like I’ve ever had one before. That’s why I texted you.” Adrien was able to scratch the little black cat behind the ears and he felt it purr. He smiled.

“I'll take him home with me. I’ve been wanting to adopt a cat for ages.” That wasn’t entirely a lie. Adrien had been wanting a cat. But he’d never actually considered the possiblity of owning one. He’d only just got his own place and Adrien was still discovering all the possiblities of freedom when you lived on your own.

“Better you than me, you know I can’t take care of myself, let alone a whole other animal.” Adrien laughed.

“No kidding. Who only keeps cheese in their fridge?”

….

The whole way home Adrien’s eyes flashed to the little black cat that slept in his back seat. He couldn’t believe it was so calm. He was positive that most cats didn’t act like that, specifically around strangers.

He was subconciously brushing his hair out of his eyes, He wondered what it wouls be like if he cut it all off. He’s positive that would be the final straw for his father. He’d actually kill Adrien.

Adrien’s thoughts were everywhere. Before he knew it he was home, with no recollection of the journey. He was a little on edge since he’d told his father he wanted to quit modeling. For obvious reasons, Gabriel Agreste did not take it very well. But Adrien had prepared. He saved the hell out of his money, found a new place to live, a job as an interpreter at a non profit organization, and gathered all of his belongings. At least, the ones that mattered. He made sure there was nothing left for Gabriel to hold over his head.

“I’m an adult, father. I have a degree that I’d actually like to use. I know you mean well but it’s time for me to do what’s right for me. Your ambitions aren’t mine.”

The discussion ended with some choice words that weren’t worth repeating, Adrien didn’t like being on bad terms with his dad but for once in his life he was free to do _whatever_ the hell he wanted and he was gonna take advantage of that.

He started small. There was suddenly a whole new world of food and Adrien would be damned if he didn’t eat it all. He was no longer limited to black coffee and protein shakes. He could finally gorge himself on pastries and sugar loaded frappuccino’s. God he was such a whore for a good mocha frappuccino. And Dunn’s knew exactly what was up when it came to a good mocha frappe. Loaded with chocolate and love and more chocolate.

Adrien was happy. But it didn’t mean that there wasn’t that nagging voice in his head, screaming that he needed to please his father. Adrien’s anxiety had been creeping up on him for weeks, ever since he’d moved out of his father’s home and it was starting to hit him like a fucking train. Maybe he needed to go to therapy.

Adrien was pulled out of his thoughts by the meowing cat in the back seat. And just like that, Adrien’s worries were drifting away.

“I think I’ll call you Plagg. What do you say to that?” The cat said nothing, and Adrien took it as approval.

“C’mon Plagg, lets get something to eat.”

…

“I’m so sorry Audrey, I don’t know how that happened.” Marinette was very stressed out. Actually, “very stressed out” didn’t even cut it. Marinette was on the verge of a goddamn heart attack. Audrey Bourgeois was easily the most difficult person to work for on the planet and she did not accept anything less than perfection. But luckily, Marinette’s work exceeded expectations in every capacity, which meant that she wasn’t going to be fired. Not today at least.

“It wasn’t your fault. But I swear on my Versace sunglasses Marinette Dupain-Cheng if you don’t find a new assistant, I’m going to fire your whole team. Do I make myself clear? You’re a professional now. Every detail matters. And not just in the stitching.” Marinette nodded her head.

“Of course!” Audrey’s eyes lingered on Marinette’s for a moment before she turned back to the line of lingerie that Marinette had slaved over.

“These pieces really are magnificent.” Audrey mumbled, her fingers ghosting over the fabric.

“You know my daughter may be modeling one.” Marinette nodded.

“I’m sure she’ll look great ma’am.”

“Have you ever met my Chloe? She’s about your age Marinette.” Marinette shook her head.

“Oh no ma’am, I don’t think so.” Audrey laughed for a moment.

“I’m sure you’ll despise her. She’s a lot like me.” Marinette’s eyes nearly bulge out of her head.

“Oh, Audrey if she’s anything like you, I’m sure she’s great! Really.”

“It’s all right Marinette, I know who I am. I’ve been a bitch since I came out of the womb. But that’s what makes a businesswoman my dear. You really ought to take note if you want to own your own business one day.” Marinette scoffed internally. As if. Marinette didn’t even know how she was going to fire her assistant, let alone manage an entire company. Marinette knew who she was too. She didn’t have what it took to be a businesswoman. But she had what it took to be a fashion designer. So she was happy to be working at a major company, even if she did work for a bitch.

“Marinette I’m sure you’re exhausted. Feel free to go home. Now that we have this whole fiasco figured out.” Marinette sighed and nodded her head. She felt a little dead inside. Her exhaustion had hit peak levels and she couldn’t believe she let Tim talk her into Hot Chocolate. How naïve to think that something wouldn’t go wrong and keep her from her appointment with her pillow. Her very soft, comfy pillow. Marinette had never been more motivated to leave the office in her life.

When she got home, she let her tension ease to the purring at the door. She gave her little ginger kitty a soft smile and reached down to pick her up, nuzzling her face.

“Come on Tikki, let’s go to bed.”


	3. Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette are both unbelievably anxious for two very different reasons

Marinette thought she was going to fall over and die. Her face was blazing, her eyes were wide and when she opened her mouth, all she could manage was a squeak.

“WHAT?!”

She was back at the office again with Audrey and she had never been more thankful to be sitting down in a chair.

“Marinette, the fact of the matter is we don’t have enough models booked for the event and you’re the perfect size. We just need one and quite frankly I’m tired of the agency we’ve been using. So the obvious solution is to use you.”

“But I’m not a model! Audrey you know how clumsy I am! And I can’t wear lingerie! In Public! I’ll die!” Audrey rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be a prude Marinette. You designed them; you can wear them. Besides. I’m not asking. You owe me for the fiasco that was yesterday. Don’t think I didn’t notice that your assistant is still here. Even you can handle walking down a catwalk for 2 minutes without falling over. We’ll practice.”

Marinette was now positive she would fall over and die.

…

The ringing of Adrien’s phone never surprised him. It was common for his phone to ring regularly throughout the day, whether it be work, or Chloe or Nino, there always seemed to be someone that urgently needed to talk to him about something that was never really urgent. No, the ringing was unsurprising. What was surprising however was the Caller ID when Adrien picked up the phone. Adrien nearly dropped it when he looked.

**GABRIEL AGRESTE**

Adrien paced anxiously around his bedroom, thumb hovering over the red button. He didn’t know if he was ready to confront his father. About anything. He had almost been relieved lately that his father had decided to just ignore him. It had let his anxiety just kind of creep around in the background where Adrien could pretend it wasn’t there. But Adrien knew that he had to speak to his father eventually and it had already been weeks. So with a sigh, he squeezed his eyes shut and hit the answer button.

“Hello? Father?” Adrien winced at the frantic sound of his voice.

“Adrien. It’s Natalie. Your father would like for you to come home to discuss a few matters with you.” Adrien rolled his eyes.

“I don’t suppose he could’ve called me himself to tell me that.”

“Your father is very busy. He has a very important show coming up.”

“Yeah, yeah, when does he want me to come?”

“Tonight. 5:30. He’d like to have dinner with you.”

“I guess there’s a first for everything. Tell him I’ll be there.” The phone clicked. She had hung up. Natalie never had been one for pleasantries. Adrien groaned as he flopped backward onto his bed. Just like that, his anxiety had leapt to the foreground and bitch slapped Adrien, as if to say _Don’t forget about me fucker_.

While realistically, Adrien knew there was nothing his father could hold over his head, he still felt like his freedom was about to be yanked from his fingers as quickly as he’d grasped it.

…

“Alya, what the hell am I gonna do?” It had been four hours since Marinette had gotten the news and she was still frantic. Alya on the other hand was thoroughly amused.

“Think of this as an opportunity. You can show the world that you can do it all.” It took everything Alya had not to laugh into the phone.

“But I can’t do it all! I can’t just walk across a stage in underwear! I can’t even walk across a stage with clothes on!” Marinette was speaking in hushed tones. She had walked into Dunn’s and she was sure she didn’t want anyone to overhear her predicament. She knew all too well how easy (and fun) it was to eavesdrop in a small coffee shop.

“With a little practice, I’m sure you can pull it off. You just have to be in the right mindset! You’re the most stubborn person I know Marinette, if you tell yourself you’re gonna do it, then you’ll figure out a way to do it.” Marinette put her free hand over her face and groaned as she walked to the coffee line.

“This is a disaster.”

“I guess it’s a triple shot of espresso kind of day huh?” Marinette’s head immediately snapped up to see Tim staring at her expectantly from behind the counter. Marinette flushed as she approached, pulling her wallet out of her purse.

“I’m gonna let you go Alya, talk to you later.”

“Bye girl!” Marinette hung up the phone and looked back at Tim.

“It’s a little embarrassing how well you know me,” she grumbled, throwing a wad of cash onto the counter.

“You learn a lot about a person from their coffee habits,” Tim teased. He counted her cash and handed her the change.

“I’ll bring it out when its ready.”

“Thanks,” Marinette said unenthusiastically. As she walked back to her usual spot, she glanced around. She was disappointed to see that there was no cute blond boy in sight. Nothing to distract her from her thoughts. Not even a project. God, she’d give anything for a project right now. She was spiraling. Contemplating if she really needed a job. Maybe she could just be homeless. Live under a bridge. Beg people for money and then impulsively spend it on coffee. Maybe she could move back home and work in the bakery, forever a failure. That sounded nice.

When Tim handed her the coffee, she took it in her hands and leaned back in her seat with a long deep sigh. She had no idea what the hell she was gonna do.

…

Adrien subconsciously chewed on his lip as he stared at the gate in front of his father’s house. He was definitely not ready for this. He prayed to every god he could think of that at the very least, the night wouldn’t end with death. On second thought, maybe that was too much to ask for.

“Come in Adrien.” Natalie’s robotic voice emanating from the comm system brought Adrien out of his thoughts. He approached hesitantly as the gates opened. He paused at the front door, thinking for just a moment about running away. Locking himself in his apartment with Plagg and never leaving again. Living off Camembert and tap water. Becoming the reclusive cat lady of floor three. That sounded nice.

The front door opened, and Adrien sighed as he walked in.

“Hello Adrien.”

“Hi Natalie. Is my father here?” Natalie gave a curt nod.

“He should be downstairs shortly. He’s finishing up a conference call. He asks that you wait for him at the dinner table.” Adrien nodded and walked back to the dining room. He suddenly felt massively uncomfortable. He took a seat in his old spot at the table and glanced around with uncertainty. This wasn’t his house anymore. So sitting alone in a room, of a house he didn’t live in (or feel welcome in for that matter), made Adrien feel out of place.

“I apologize, I was taking care of some business.” Adrien looked up to see his father entering the room. He sat at the opposite end of the table.

“Oh, uh its alright father,” Adrien stuttered. This was so awkward. He had no idea what to say.

“Um what did you want to talk to me about?” He finally said.

“I have a proposal.” Adrien stiffened a little. He did not like where this was going at all.

“Okay,” he said cautiously. Gabriel cleared his throat.

“I understand why you want to move out. You were right when you said you were an adult and you are able to make your own decisions.” Adrien was holding his breath. He had no idea where this was going but he was grateful at the very least that there was no yelling. That seemed like it should be a good sign.

“However, you still have a responsibility to your family.”

“What the hell does that even mean,” Adrien thought to himself.

“What exactly are you suggesting father?”

“I want you to publicly support the Gabriel Brand. You would appear at my events and conduct yourself in a way that upholds our public image. Understand that this means you’d still have to behave in any public setting, not just professional events. I will not hear of my son acting like a rebellious teenager. In return, I will respect the professional decisions and leave you to do as you please, within reason, without complaint. Put simply, respect my career and I’ll respect yours.”

“How do my actions affect your public image?” Adrien asked sourly. He crossed his arms.

“Because you are my son and whether you like it or not, everything you do reflects on me. And in my industry every reflection of me matters, whether it be my work or the actions of my son.”

Adrien sat in silence for a long time, contemplating. On the one hand, his father wasn’t really in a position to make demands. The only thing Gabriel really had to offer Adrien at all was his approval. On the other hand, Gabriel was still his father and as much as Adrien hated it, his fathers’ approval was still very important to him. It occurred to Adrien that if he wanted any kind of positive relationship with his father, this was really the best-case scenario.

As dinner was being served, Adrien began to weigh the pros and cons of “supporting” the Gabriel brand. For instance, since he was no longer modeling, he’d actually be able to enjoy the food at his father’s events, which meant that he might be able to actually enjoy the even itself. He wouldn’t really be working as much as socializing and honestly, Adrien could really use socialization. But Adrien didn’t like the way his father threw in the part about “public image.” He hated saving face for the sake of the media and one of the best parts about quitting the whole modeling thing was that he didn’t have to think constantly about every public decision he made and how the media would portray it. There was a little less pressure in this new scenario but not by much.

Gabriel ate quietly, glancing at Adrien every so often, trying to decipher his thoughts. Adrien had always worn his heart on his sleeve but the conflict in his face made it clear to Gabriel that Adrien was wrestling with his decision. After nearly ten minutes of silence, Gabriel spoke up.

“You don’t have to answer me today.” Adrien glanced up from his meal.

“Okay father.”

“But I’d like an answer soon,” Gabriel said. Adrien winced.

“How soon?”

“I have a very important show next month and I’d like to know whether to reserve you a seat by next week.” Adrien nodded.

“I undertand.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know its really frustrating that they haven't actually met yet but I swear its coming. Also this kind of is meant to show that Gabriel's terrrible parenting was not without consequences and it takes the form of anxiety in Adrien. Its pretty tame but if I feel like I need a trigger warning in the future or someone is uncomfortable I'll put one.


	4. Marinette is a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dunn Bros Coffee Shop really is a miraculous little coffee shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really titled this chapter to rile people up. I'm not sorry

Adrien hated conflict. Like really hated conflict. Like the idea of conflict kinda made Adrien want to curl up in a ball and sleep until all conflicted parties were dead or unconflicted.

Unfortunately, Gabriel was privy to that. So while the deal he offered Adrien seemed stupidly unbalanced, it was kind of an act of genius. Adrien stared at his toes as he walked his way into Dunn’s. He really wanted to just shut his brain off. He didn’t really have to come to a decision immediately anyway. There was still time to enjoy his coffee and pretend like life was grand. Adrien was really good at enjoying coffee and pretending life was grand.

When Adrien got in line he shoved his hands in his back pockets and looked up at the sign, pretending he didn’t know what he wanted. But he always knew.

“Hey Tim,” Adrien said casually, walking up to the counter.

“Your large mocha frappe extra whip will be out in a minute.”

“It’s a little embarrassing how well you know me,” Adrien mumbled, getting out his wallet.

“Yeah I get that a lot,” Tim chuckled. Adrien paid for his coffee and started to walk to his corner. He stopped for a moment and gaped. It was taken. Adrien’s whole train of thought was derailed as he floundered, trying to think of a place to sit. He glanced nervously around to see that the coffee shop was completely full. Every table, chair and booth was occupied. His eyes lingered on Marinette in her usual spot and he felt the slightest bit of relief for the familiarity.

“Mocha Frappe for Adrien!”

Adrien walked hesitantly to the counter, still glancing around for a spot to open up. Maybe if he stared at someone long enough they’d get the mental message to leave.

“Your spots taken huh?” Adrien looked pathetically at Tim.

“You know, there’s a girl here that’s usually here when you are and she’s got plenty of room at her table. She’s really nice. You should ask to sit with her.” Adrien’s eyes got wide.

“Marinette?” Tim raised an eyebrow.

“Uh yeah, do you know her.”

“Not really. She’s… a work associate of my father.” Tim stared at Adrien for another moment before smirking.

“Well like I said, she’s really nice and she’s kind of having an existential crisis right now so I’m sure she’d love the company to keep her distracted.” Adrien glanced back over to see Marinette with her head in her hands. She left her hands slightly parted just enough to get the straw between them so that she could still easily sip her coffee without moving. Adrien smiled softly.

“Yeah, okay!” He took his coffee in hand and made his way over to the booth.

…

“Hey!”

Marinette was so startled she nearly spilled her coffee in her lap.

“Ohmigosh,” she stuttered. She looked up to see the hot blonde boy who usually sat in the corner booth.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Marinette was frozen for just a fraction of a second, eyes wide and mouth open in a look of terror. Once she realized how stupid she probably looked, she immediately attempted to compose herself.

“Oh no! I just wasn’t paying attention! Um whats up?” She spoke quickly and she stumbled a little over her words. God he was freaking hot.

“Well, my usual spot kinda got taken and there’s no more tables left. I see you here a lot so I was wondering if maybe today I could sit here with you.” This could not be happening. Marinette had a slight inclination to burst out the door and never come back. But this also had the potential to be the best day of her life. Maybe this would be the story she would tell her kids when she explained how she met their father. She’d totally have his babies. He was so hot….

“I can sit outside if you don’t want company.” Marinette immediately realized she’d been staring silently for far too long.

“NO!” Adrien jumped a little at her squeak.

“I mean, no I’d love the company, um I just didn’t realize you’d noticed me here. I mean I’ve noticed you but you’re gorgeous… I mean- Your clothes are gorgeous! Um they’re Gabriel right?” Marinette rolled her eyes in her thoughts. _Real smooth._ The hot boy blushed a little and scratched his head.

“Uh yeah I wear a lot of his stuff.”

“Wow, I love his designs. They’re so beautiful. I’m hoping that maybe one day I could work for him. I’m a fashion designer.” Marinette was ready to die. And she would have if she hadn’t kept imagining “Marinette, beloved idiot” on her headstone. She had no idea how to talk to men.

The hot boy sat down across from her and smiled.

“I know! My father is in the business and he speaks very highly of your work!” Marinette could feel her cheeks heating up.

“Um, oh you’ve heard of me?”

“Yeah! You’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I thought about talking to you a few times but you’ve always seemed really busy.”

“Oh yeah… Um this is kind of like my workspace away from work.” The hot boy grinned widely.

“I love this place! I won’t even tell my friends about this place because I’m scared it’ll get to popular.” Marinette chuckled.

“I know what you mean. My best friend is a reporter so I tell her I go to Starbucks so she doesn’t expose my secret lair.” Marinette let herself relax for a bit. She found conversation really easy with the hot boy. He was good making small talk and Marinette just kind of felt her worries trickle away. Briefly.

“So what are you working on right now?” Marinette clammed up almost immediately.

“Oh, um nothing important. It’s kind of lame, I um I don’t really want to talk about it. I’ll probably bore you to death.” And just like that Marinette was mentally kicking herself again. If he had asked her 24 hours earlier about her project she would probably have talked his ear off. She was extremely proud of her line and she was equally proud to be submitting it to Gabriel Agreste.

But here, in the present, the idea of her project made her nauseous.

“Well I heard that you’re working on a line for Gabriel Agreste.” Marinette prayed briefly to god and thanked him that she hadn’t had been sipping on her coffee when he said that.

“What!? Where did you hear that?” Marinette couldn’t look in a mirror but if she could’ve she would’ve see a jittery, crimson frinese (an inside joke between her and Alya) woman, fidgeting frantically with the collar of her blouse. And if she had looked in this mirror, not knowing that it was her, she would’ve laughed hysterically at the poor sap.

The hot boy however, was much nicer and much worse at reading social cues than Marinette.

“Oh you know, I have connections. I was actually considering attending the show your line’s gonna be featured in.” And if Marinette had an ounce of sanity left, it evaporated with that sentence.

“Oh.” Was all she could manage.

“I bet its gonna be great. I’ve heard really good things about your work.” If Marinette’s sanity hadn’t evaporated, she probably would’ve been very flattered.

“I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” she said flatly. She was staring off into space with a dead look in her eyes. If the hot blonde boy saw her in any of the pieces she’d designed, she’d die for real.

“I guess I will! I got to get going but do you think I could come sit with you again another time?” Marinette suddenly looked at Adrien who looked very hopeful and a little embarrassed.

“Of course!” she responded. “Anytime!” The hot blonde boy grinned.

“Awesome, see ya Marinette!” He got up and walked away, giving Marinette a brief wave.

“Yeah! See ya!” The conflicting emotions in Marinette were so intense she nearly crushed the coffee cup in her hand. On the one hand, she was still freaking out about work and the hot boy was doing absolutely nothing to make her feel better. On the other hand, Marinette was also kind of freaking out because she was excited that the hoy boy wanted to hang out with her again even after she acted like a complete jackass in front of him. Marinette pulled out her phone, shaking a little (from caffeine or anxiety, who could say?) as she typed.

To: Alya

 **I need you to come over tonight. Bring wine. Coffee is not strong enough**.

…

Making new friends always put Adrien in a better mood. He was glad he went to Dunn’s. That place was literally the best place on earth. It made him feel infinitely better no matter what was going on. Adrien thought about Marinette. She was funny and a little awkward but Adrien liked that. He got over the confident, sexy façade in his previous line of work very quickly. Not that there was anything wrong with confidence but he hated that every woman he seemed to come in contact with tried to give off the same old, “I’m gonna break your heart and you’re gonna like it” vibe.

Adrien sighed. He was thinking about his fathers offer again. He supposed he could handle events a lot easier with a friend. Maybe they could go together. He figured Marinette would be up front and center for the upcoming show. It wouldn’t be far fetched to say they could sit together. Although he supposed he’d have to fess up to who his father really was. He scrunched his nose a little at the idea. He liked that she didn’t know. It made their friendship feel more real. But maybe he was getting ahead of himself.

He couldn’t exactly call 20 minutes of conversation over coffee friendship. Could he? He was reminded for a moment of how he became friends with Chloe.

_“Is your name Adrien?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“You’re going to be my friend.”_

Maybe Adrien could be adventurous. Just proclaim that Marinette was his friend now. He chuckled a little at the idea. He regretted for a moment not asking for her number. At least then he wouldn’t have to wait for a happenstance meeting with his friend. But thinking on it, he couldn’t remember a single time he’d gone to Dunn’s after 5:00 pm and not seen her there. Jeez maybe it really was her work away from work.

Adrien let his mind wander as he drove back home. But the soft smile never left his lips. He just couldn’t stop thinking about her. Marinette. His new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler:  
> "MARI WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HIS NAME!"


	5. Game Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette both need to vent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I predicted. I procrastinated on my 5 page paper thats due tomorrow at noon and wrote this instead. You're welcome. Please be advised that I still have a potty mouth and it's very evident in this chapter.

“So this boy, you met him at Starbucks?”

Alya had a knack for interrogation. Marinette didn’t really mind it but when it came to keeping secrets, it became an issue. Partially because Marinette was terrible at lying but also because Alya always felt the need to get to the bottom of the truth. Marinette had to work exceptionally hard to keep her coffee shop a secret. And it wasn’t necessarily because she didn’t want Alya to go to her coffee shop as much as she was scared that if Alya did go to the coffee shop, she would like it so much she would recommend it to her followers. And if Alya recommended it to her followers, suddenly Dunn’s wouldn’t be a hideaway anymore. It would be a zoo.

“Yeah, he always sits across from me at the coffee shop but his spot was full so he asked to come sit with me.”

“Oooh okay. What’s his name?” Marinette scratched her head. She’d wanted to kick herself the whole way home when she realized. The hot boy had known her name but she was too distracted to remember to ask his. Marinette grumbled to herself.

“Mari you know I can’t understand you when you mumble.”

“I don’t know,” Marinette repeated quietly. Alya slammed her empty wine glass on the coffee table so hard that Marinette was positive it would break.

"MARI WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HIS NAME!" Marinette let out a short pathetic laugh and fidgeted with her hands in her lap.

“I forgot to ask.” Alya stared at Mari with a look of fury. She was still and silent for a solid minute before she spoke.

“You forgot.” Marintette winced.

“You talked to the hottest guy you think you have ever seen. Somehow manage to get him to like you enough to want to hang out with you again and you forgot to ask for his fucking name?! I’m sorry Mari but I don’t think we can be friends anymore.”

“I’m sorry Alya!” Mari whined. “But I had a lot going through my mind! The whole experience was a little overwhelming!”

“I will never understand you Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Alya stood up and walked into Marinette’s kitchen.

“I need another bottle of wine before I speak to you.” Alya pulled another bottle of wine from Marinette’s cabinet and brought it back into the living room, unscrewing the cap. Marinette just sat pitifully, beet red, staring at her hands.

“When do you think you’ll see him again?” Alya asked curtly. She poured herself a very generous glass of wine.

“Um… Well, he’s usually at Du- I mean, Starbucks when I go there. I’d say we’re there together probably 75 percent of the time. Well not together -together but you know. Like at the same time.” The scowl on Alya’s face didn’t budge.

“Marinette if you don’t get his number the next time you see him. AND his name. I will personally strangle you myself. You got it?” Marinette gulped.

“I got it.”

…

Adrien paced nervously in his room. He had his phone on speaker and he was impatiently waiting out the rings.

“Hello?”

“Hey Natalie, it’s Adrien.”

“Yes?” Adrien sighed.

“Tell my father that I accept.” He shoved his head in his hands. His decision felt impulsive. He’d only just had dinner with his father a few hours before but he had kind of made up his mind the moment his father laid out the proposition. He always knew he’d do what he could to keep his father happy.

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that.” The phone clicked. Adrien wasn’t sure what he’d expected to get out of that phone call but he’d at least expected it to be more dramatic. But then again Natalie was never one for melodrama.

…

“Dude I can’t believe this. How is this any different than your life before?” Nino was hunched over a controller, eyes focused on Adrien’s television. Adrien pressed irritably at the buttons on his own controller.

“Well for one I can eat whatever I want- Oh for the love of god Nino how many times do I have to tell you that this game has friendly fire? Will you please stop shooting me?”

“I mean food is great and all Adrien but that’s not the reason you hated modeling.” Adrien sighed.

“I mean its not just the food. I get to have my own career and live in my own house. I just have to not act like a complete jackass in public and go to my dad’s shows.”

“That’s an oversimplification and you know it. But I mean- GOD FUCKING DAMMIT I HATE THIS GAME.” Adrien grinned.

“I mean dude its your life and I’m not gonna tell you how to live it. Just want you to make sure that your Dad isn’t either ya know?”

“Yeah, thanks Nino.”

…

“Oh my god, he said he’s gonna be at your show?” Alya was prodding again. Marinette could feel them approaching dangerous waters.

“I mean… it’s not my show but he said he’d be at the one my line’s at.”

“That’s crazy! Oh my god. He's gonna see you looking super hot in your lingerie. That's amazing. But... wait I thought you said it was super exclusive? Even I can’t get in there.”

“He said his dad was in the fashion industry.” Marinette got up to turn on her television. She tried with great difficulty to ignore Alya's comment. 

“Oh cool, who’s his dad?” Marinette groaned as she walked back to the couch.

“Alya. I don’t know.” Alya threw her hands up.

“Mari, the more words that come out of your mouth, the less faith I have in you.” Marinette handed Alya a controller.

“Then less talking, more playing.”

…

“Oh no.” Adrien looked at Nino.

“Oh no what?” Adrien asked.

“It’s them,” Nino replied hollowly.

“Fuck.”

…

“Oh my god Alya look!” They stared at the screen while the map loaded, assessing the opposing users.

“Ha, its those losers again. How do we always manage to be online with them? You’d think they’d choose a different map considering how bad they suck,” Alya sneered. Marinette cackled.

“How do you think they’d feel if they realized they were getting beat by a couple of girls?”

“I don’t know, how do you think they’d feel if they realized they were getting beat by a couple of _drunk_ girls.”

…

“How do we always manage to get stuck with these guys. Do you even know how many people play this game?” Nino was tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for the screen to load.

“Ugh, I bet they’re perverts too. Who makes their username FoxyLady? Or Tikkibaby? God. They sound like lame douchebags who play in their mom’s basement.” Adrien’s nose scrunched at the thought.

“Yeah, its easy to beat ass in a videogame when you use all your free time to play it,” Nino muttered.

“Okay Nino. Its starting. Are you ready?”

“Hell yeah!”

…

“I swear Mari, its like they get worse every time we play them.”

…

“GOD DAMMIT ADRIEN, IF FOXYLADY STABS ME ONE MORE TIME!”

…

“Alya, go easy on the poor guys. I can literally imagine them screaming at the TV.”

…

“Oh Nino, I think I got Tikkibaby. I’m right behind him. He can’t even see m- FUUUUUCK HOW DOES HE FUCKIN DO THAT!”

…

“Mari, I thought you said go easy on them?” Marinette giggled.

“I figured it was my turn to mess with them a little bit.”

…

**GAME OVER.**

Nino and Adrien stared at the screen. Fuming.

“Adrien. I swear on my brother’s life that one day we’re going to beat them so bad that they wish they’d never even seen our users flash across their screen.”

“Nino, you don’t even like your brother.”

“Exactly. Better his life than mine. I really hate this game.”

…

“Well another day, another ass whooped.” Marinette and Alya were giggling hysterically at the screen.

**VICTORY**

“Oh man Marinette. I really love this game.”


	6. Coffee Buddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mornings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very stressed out so I wrote this and its 7 am and I havent been to bed because finals, anyway I'm basically high on caffeine (I've never done cocaine but I bet the feeling you get after drinking a starbucks triple shot is exactly the same) and I am super delirious so thats where this came from. I hope its readable.

Marinette woke up feeling like someone had shoved a wad of cotton balls in her mouth. God she hated wine. One would think that after years of “wine nights” with Alya, she’d realize she should never participate in them on work nights. Marinette glanced halfheartedly at her phone, searching for the time.

**7:00**

“FUCK!”

Marinette jumped up like she’d been prodded with a hot poker. She ran to her little chest of drawers and frantically grabbed the first pair of pants she saw. As she attempted to put them on, she simultaneously hopped toward her closet. After a quick analysis she grabbed a blouse that she only hoped complimented her pants. Marinette shimmied her way into her blouse and made her way into the bathroom. Tikki sat on the counter top glaring at her

“Meow.”

Marinette grabbed her toothbrush and squirted a generous amount of toothpaste on the bristles.

“I know Tikki but I have to be at work in an hour and god knows what traffic’s gonna be like.” Marinette brushed her teeth with purpose, contemplating the agenda of the day. She was never drinking with Alya on a Tuesday night ever again.

Marinette groaned at herself. She hated going to work without makeup. Because every single time without fail, Audrey had a passive aggressive comment to make.

_Mari I know a good makeup artist if you ever need any tips._

_Did someone die? You look awful._

Audrey was right. She was a bitch.

Marinette briskly walked into the kitchen and started the coffee pot, grumbling to herself about bitchy bosses. She checked the time on the oven.

**7:05**

Marinette began calculating. If she left by 7:15, she would be fine. That gave her 45 minutes to make a half hour drive. She’d make it with time to spare.

Audrey put up with a lot more from Marinette than she did from most people (for the sake of art, as she would say) but Marinette was not looking to push the limits. While she waited for the coffee to brew, she grabbed Tikki’s food from the pantry and poured it in the bowl. Tikki didn’t so much as glance at Marinette as she strolled into the kitchen and began eating her food. Marinette grabbed her brush from the counter of the bar and started brushing her hair wildly. When the coffee pot beeped impatiently at her, she quickly filled up her mug and one to go coffee for the road. It was gonna be one of those days.

Marinette put her hair in a quick sloppy French braid that fell down to just the center of her shoulder blades and gulped down her first coffee. When she glanced back up at the oven clock she sighed harshly.

**7:10**

Marinette grabbed her purse, chugged the last bit of coffee from her mug and slipped on some flats she kept near the door.

“Bye Tikki, I love you!”

…

When Adrien woke up he was more than a little disoriented. He couldn’t see a thing and he couldn’t breathe but he could feel fur buried in his face.

“Phlghhh.” His voice was muffled by the cat laying peacefully across his face. Adrien picked the cat up and held him up above his head.

“Is this what we’re doing now?” Plagg stared back with disinterest. Once Adrien set Plagg down on the empty side of the bed, he glanced at his beeping alarm clock.

**7:00**

Adrien sighed contentedly and strolled into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. His favorite part of his job was the late start. He had three hours of peace before he had to be at work so Adrien relished in it.

“Plagg, what do we want for breakfast?” Plagg elected not to dignify Adrien with a response.

“Yeah, I was thinking cereal too.”

…

_No. nO. NO. NOOOO._

That’s what went through Marinette’s head when she got about 15 minutes down the road and realized she left the to go coffee sitting on the counter. It was at this point that Marinette began bargaining with herself.

_If I drive five miles per hour over the speed limit for the next five miles and stop lightly but maybe not all the way at Dupont Circle, then I’ll have time to pick up an order from Dunn’s. Maybe I could call the store? God I hope Tim is there_.

…

“Alright Plagg. I’m gonna go to Dunn’s. I’ll see you after work.”

“Meow.” Plagg didn’t so much as lift his head from the couch

“Don’t judge me! It’s perfectly normal for people to have multiple cups of coffee a day. Good day to you sir.”

“Meow.” Adrien scowled as he stepped in to the hall.

“I SAID GOOD DAY!”

Adrien probably would’ve laughed to himself if he didn’t happen to walk into the hall at the same time as three other residents in his apartment complex. He had to trudge his way to the elevator, avoiding eye contact with every living thing in his periphery. Is this what his father meant when he asked Adrien not to make a fool of himself?

…

“Thank you, Tim. You’re a lifesaver, I’ll be there in 5!” Marinette hung up the phone and glanced at the clock.

**7:30**

Marinette did the math. She was at the light just in front of Dunn’s and she did the math faster than she’d ever done any math in her life.

Her job was only 15 minutes away from Dunn’s. If it took 5 minutes to get in, pay and get out, the light would probably be about 3 minutes long to turn in and out of Dunn’s. If you add all that together, plus the walk from the work parking lot to the door (which Marinette estimated to be about 5 more minutes), and if she was lucky, so very lucky, Audrey wouldn’t notice her being 1 minute late.

The things Marinette does for coffee.

…

Adrien was able to find his usual spot. He was able to order his usual mocha frappe and he was a little disappointed (but not surprised) to see Marinette was not in her usual spot. Adrien had noticed after weeks of people watching that Marinette didn’t come to Dunn’s until after 5 pm, at which point she was usually frantically working on something. Adrien had also noticed that when he came in at about 7:30 every morning, he was the only person who would actually come in and sit down. Now, Adrien didn’t always go to Dunn’s twice a day… but he did it more often than he cared to admit.

_“You know I give you all my money. I feel like you should at least take me out to dinner,” Adrien had joked._

_“Nice try sweet cheeks,” Tim had said as he handed Adrien his change._

Adrien loved Dunn’s. What a peacefully, predictable and wonderful place.

…

“Yes. yES YES! YEEEEES!”

Marinette was right on schedule. She was screeching into Dunn’s at exactly 7:33 and she’d never been more proud of herself in her life.

…

Just as Adrien was beginning to settle in, the door busted open. Marinette arrived in the most ridiculous fashion Adrien had ever seen. She had a debit card in one hand, a shoe in another and she was breathing incredibly hard, as though she’d run a marathon. Her purse slipped from her shoulder to her elbow and it seemed like what had once been a French braid, was now a French mess because while the top of her head seemed to present her hair in a beautiful plait, as you moved down you could see that her hair was falling, falling ,falling until it was sprawled across her back.

“Tim, please tell me it’s already made?” Tim looked at her with wide eyes and a cautious expression.

“Um, I think I’ll add another shot of espresso while you pay, just uh, swipe.”

…

“Fuck me,” Marinette muttered. She dropped her shoe to the ground and tried to wriggle her foot back into it as she swiped her debit card.

“Are you okay Marinette?”

Now at this moment, Marinette froze in horror and a series of realizations hit her all at once. Number one, she’d forgot to put a hair tie in after braiding her hair that morning. Number two, she had walked into Dunn’s with only one shoe. Number three, when Tim said on the phone about 6 minutes earlier that the shop had been dead, he hadn’t meant empty. And finally, number four, the hot boy was sitting in his table in the corner.

“Oh, um yes! Just late! But I need coffee, and I left mine at home so I’m late and I stopped for coffee… Stress.” Marinette could practically see the word vomit coming from her mouth. This really was one of those days.

…

Adrien could physically see the stress on Marinette’s face before the word even came out of her mouth. He could tell she was nervous before her other words stumbled out too and Adrien felt awful for her.

“Well, maybe I can help! Here, I always keep an extra hair tie in my wallet for one of my friends. She’s kind of obsessive about her hair. Do you want to borrow it?” He could see a touch of relief in Marinette’s face.

“Oh my gosh. That’s really sweet, thank you!” Adrien glanced in the back and saw Tim give him a wink before busying himself with Marinette’s coffee.

“You know, we keep running into each other, but it’d be nice to actually plan a time to meet up. Why don’t I give you my number?”

…

Marinette was hyperventilating just a bit. There was a lot going on and it was very overwhelming. And that was the excuse she would give Alya when she explained the events that transpired there in that coffee shop.

She had handed the hot boy her phone and just as he’d handed it back, Tim had come back with the coffee. Without so much as a sideways glance at her phone, she snatched the coffee and turned briefly to face the hot boy.

“Thank you! Late. Really late. Gotta go. Lext you tater.” And with that, she gave Tim an appreciative nod, and ran out the door.

When she glanced at the clock in her car, Marinette was happy to see that she had a minute to spare before she needed to peel out of the parking lot. She chose this minute to take a look at the new contact in her phone. Finally Alya could stop bugging Marinette about not knowing his name.

When Marinette unlocked her phone and looked at her newest contact she had to take a full 3 minutes (that she didn’t have) to recover. There was screaming, maybe some crying, thrashing. It was a big ball of _Why is this happening to me?_ She reread the contact name about 30 times before it really sunk in that this was really just one of those days.

**Coffee Buddy.**

The risk of going to Dunn’s that morning was calculated but boy was Marinette bad at math.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the ending was kind of cliche but I freaking love that line. It'll never be overdone or underrated and I dont car ewho I have to fight to prove it.


	7. The Red Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette works up the courage to text Adrien

One would think that after years of working for his father, Adrien would have known what he was getting into. One would think.

Alas, he was still caught by surprise at the implications of attending his father’s events. His father’s fashion show was in four weeks and yet he found himself a little overwhelmed with the arrangements that needed to be made. For one, there was a car service, because driving his own car was apparently out of the question. For another, Adrien was required to see a stylist prior to the show and apparently nearly everyone had booked up. So after three hours of coordinating with Nathalie and calling in favors, he found someone willing to take him. Adrien was a little disappointed that he no longer had Nathalie to take care of booking these things for him and he had to take care of it himself. Likely because his father wanted Adrien to at least suffer a little from the consequences of “being an adult”. Adrien supposed there was little room to complain. Besides, normal people made their own appointments for everything.

There was, of course things that Nathalie and his father did take care of. Like for example, the seating arrangements. There was a whole world of politics in the fashion industry that trickled down into every detail, down to the last chair. Adrien was grateful he wasn’t expected to entangle himself in that shit show of a web. Gabriel no doubt, knew his son well enough at the very least to know Adrien would never be good at dealing with that.

Despite all the fuss and a few hours of stress, Adrien was couldn’t help but be a little excited. After being cooped up for years he’d come to realize that at heart, he was a social butterfly. When it came down to it, events like this were always filled with people he’d known since he could crawl and there was comfort in the familiarity.

Adrien found himself wondering about Marinette. Surely she’d be there, in the front row. It was possible that Adrien would end up next to her. Adrien smiled at the thought. He knew how exciting it had to be to have her work shown at such an exclusive event and it made him happy to think about being able to see her get excited. He wondered how she would react. He still didn’t know her very well but he could tell she wore her heart on her sleeve. He could imagine her bubbling with joy when everyone saw how talented she was. Not that Adrien had ever seen her work but to work for Audrey Bourgeois or get a compliment from Gabriel Agreste, you had to be top notch. Adrien knew that better than anyone.

Adrien sat in his thoughts for a long time, laying across his leather couch and staring aimlessly at the ceiling. It was eight o’ clock on a Wednesday and he wasn’t entirely sure what to do. His train of thought had begun with the classic, should I cook or order in dilemma and without coming to a decision, his mind had run all the way to Marinette.

He chuckled a little at the thought of her this morning. She’d been so panicked. He thought of her wild black hair and the shoes in her hands. It seemed so out of place in such a tranquil little coffee shop. But it had been a welcome surprise. Adrien had always enjoyed a touch of spontaneity.

Adrien was interrupted from his thoughts when Plagg hopped onto the couch and settled himself on Adrien’s chest.

“Hey Plagg,” Adrien said, smiling softly as he scratched his cat’s midnight black ears. Plagg merely responded with soft purring.

“Food, huh?” Plagg looked at Adrien with wide eyes, as though prompting Adrien to elaborate.

“Yeah I was thinking take out too. Maybe I’ll have them bring you a little side of cheese.”

“Meow.” Adrien laughed.

“Yeah I know buddy, I know.”

…

When Marinette got home she slumped on the couch and curled up.

“Tikki. Why did you let me invite Alya over with wine last night?” Tikki ignored Marinette and continued playing with a stuffed macaroon that Sabine had bought her for Christmas.

Marinette thought about her day with a scowl. It started rocky and ended worse. She ran late to work, totally embarrassed herself in front of hot guy from Dunn’s, still didn’t figure out his name, had several unpleasant interactions with her boss, most notably about the upcoming fashion show. God Marinette hated planning. The fashion industry would be the death of her, and Marinette was sure of it.

“ _So, Audrey, I was thinking. I have this friend named Juleka and she’s a model and she would be a perfect replacement for me in the show. She’s beautiful. I’d be happy to send you her portfolio.” Audrey had sighed and rolled her eyes at Marinette._

_“Marinette, I’m going to be very blunt with you. I don’t want anyone else. I’m trying to help you. You’re an amazing designer and you’re very beautiful and I think it’s an excellent way for you to be recognized by some of the other big brands that are going to be at the show. So stop trying to get out of it, you’re going to model the red piece and you’re going to like it. Understood?”_

Marinette was conflicted. On the one hand, Audrey had given her two compliments in one sentence (which was a miracle all on its own) and on the other hand she was forcing Marinette to wear the red-

“[ _THE RED PIECE?”_](https://andtheyweredeskmates.tumblr.com/post/617977653751922688/the-concept-art-for-my-fic-of-lattes-and-lingerie)

“ _Yes, it’s a flattering color. You look damn good in red and don’t act like you don’t know it.”_

Marinette could feel her face turning a deeper shade of red than the red piece itself. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she got. She would be in front of dozens of elite fashion industry workers in nothing but a couple dozen pieces of lacy strings she’d sewn together. She’d be in front of Hot Guy…. In nothing but lacy strings.

Marinette was hungover and she was already feeling the need for another wine night.

Marinette pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at it reluctantly. She found herself pulling up the Hot Guy's contact info.

**Coffee Buddy**

Suddenly Marinette pulled a very uncharacteristically bold move

**_Hey, this is Marinette. Thank you for the hair tie. Sorry I didn’t get much of a chance to talk._ **

Well, maybe not that bold.

…

Adrien slurped on his Ramen when he heard his phone buzz. He picked it up automatically and squinted at the unknown number.

Once he read the message, he smiled.

 **_Hey Marinette_ ** **_😊 Its no problem. You seemed a little preoccupied._ **

…

Marinette was surprised at how quickly the Hot Guy responded. She almost convinced herself for a moment that maybe he was as lame as she was and had no one else to talk to.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Yeah, sorry. Work. I was running late and Audrey isn’t really the forgiving type_ **

Marinette felt her stomach grumble. It was definitely time for food.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_I’m sure you’re super busy. Are you excited about your show?_** Marinette scoffed.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Well, technically it’s Gabriel’s show and honestly… I’m really nervous_ **

Marinette could feel the little tingle in her gut when her phone pinged. It had been a very long time since she’d felt like that. At least since college.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Don’t be. I bet it’s gonna be great. Besides, I’ll be there to pump you up. I’ve heard I’m an excellent hype man._ **

Marinette groaned.

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” she grumbled. She typed out another message before routing around in her freezer.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Well that’s sweet of you. It’s going to be a very long night for me._ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Maybe we can sit together._ **

Marinette snorted as she pulled out frozen pizza.

**_Oh I doubt it, Audrey has me doing…_ **

Marinette thought about it for a long while before typing out the rest of the message to send.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Oh I doubt it, Audrey has me doing a lot of behind the scene stuff during the show._ **

Maybe hot guy would find out eventually what she meant but Marinette wasn’t ready for that conversation.

 _Hey dude you’re gonna see me in fancy underpants with a billion other people. Sexy right?_ Marinette rolled her eyes. No way. She was not having that conversation.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_That’s a shame. Are you going to the after party?_ **

That had been another topic of discussion that had come up at work. The After Party. Audrey was insistent that Marinette attend. Marinette on the other hand, had other ideas. Like going home to wallow in embarrassment.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Um… TBD. I haven’t decided._ **

Audrey was likely not going to let Marinette win that battle either but Marinette could dream.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Well they’re super fun. I’ve been to nearly every Gabriel show and the after party is the best part. It can get a little wild. But I promise, if you stick with me, I’ll show you a great time._ **

Marinette had always been told that when it came to flirting she was absolutely, hopelessly clueless. Alya had never seen a woman so unaware of the advances of prospective lovers. It was possibly Marinette’s greatest weakness.

Now with that being said, once Alya pointed it out, Marinette had tried to pay better attention. But really, it wasn’t so much paying attention as much as overanalyzing friendly behavior until she convinced herself that it was vain to assume anyone would want to flirt with her. In short, Marinette had not gotten any better.

…

Adrien wasn’t quite sure why, but Nino showed up at Adrien’s apartment shortly after 9. Adrien didn’t complain. He enjoyed the company. Nino couldn’t say the same. At least, not that night.

“Are you even listening? Who are you texting?” Adrien just smiled softly at Nino.

“Have you ever heard of Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” If Nino had been taking a sip of his beer the moment Adrien said that, he probably would’ve spit it out.

“Uh, yeah dude. I went to high school with her. I had a huge crush on her all sophomore year. She’s a fashion designer now right?”

“Wow, that’s so cool. I met her at a coffee shop the other day and she’s really nice. I’ve been texting her for about 20 minutes now.”

“So… she’s single now huh?” Adrien cocked his head in confusion.

“Um, I don’t know. Was she single when you knew her in high school?” Nino laughed.

"I'll take that as a no. I guess she was dating a boy?"

“First of all, he was not a boy. That dude was all man. Luka Couffaine. He was in a super sick metal band that supposedly did really well in America. Second of all, how are you talking to a girl and you don’t even know if she’s single?” Adrien gave Nino a contemptuous look.

“We’re not talking-talking. She’s just a friend. We only just met yesterday.” Nino snatched the phone out of Adrien’s hand.

“Gimme that,” Nino said. He began scrolling through Adrien’s texts.

“Hey!” Adrien protested. Nino rolled his eyes as he tossed the phone back to Adrien.

“You are so full of shit dude. ‘I’ll show you a great time?’ That’s literally a tacky pickup line guys use at the bar.”

“What? That’s not even a pick up line. I don’t think you even know what a pick up line is,” Adrien grumbled. Nino snorted.

“Dude, do you know what a pick up line is? I’ve known you for what, two years now? And never once have I ever seen you go after anyone. I thought you were asexual or something.” Adrien looked at Nino with another look of contempt.

“I’m not asexual. I just got my own stuff going on you know. I’m trying to get my shit together so I don’t wreck someone else’s.” Nino rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say dude. Only thing I’ll tell you then is that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is probably one of the most kickass girls you’ll ever met so if you do decide you like her, you better respect the shit out of her, got it?”

“Sure thing dude.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up doing some quick concept art for "the red thing" if you clickthe link on "THE RED PIECE" It should you bring you to it. Thanks for reading!


	8. Overworked Starbucks Baristas Have All the Life of a Dead Fish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette really thought today would be a good day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who were interested in the Red Piece from the last chapter, I posted a link there for you guys to see it. You'll find it in the part where Marinette is reminiscing about the no so fun conversations she had with Audrey. Anywhoo, I kind of really like this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy. I'm loving the comments I've been receiving so don't be shy!

When Adrien went to bed he was still texting Marinette. He started to pay a little more attention to the way he worded things. Maybe he _was_ being a little flirty. Adrien sighed as he stared at his phone.

Did he really even know what flirty was? Nino was right, he hadn’t really been interested in anyone since high school, and even then it had been a halfhearted crush. Kagami was one of his only friends aside from Chloe and they’d spent a lot of time together. She was his first kiss. But it wasn’t long after they’d started dating that Adrien realized his feelings for her were no where near as strong as her feelings for him. So, he broke it off. They of course, stayed friends but Adrien could tell he’d hurt his friend. It was never really the same after that.

Adrien supposed that was why he never really tried too hard to get the attention of women. He was always so focused on making friends, he kind of let the idea of romance slip away.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_So who’s your dad? You keep telling me about how your dad is connected to the fashion world. Maybe I know him?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Um, it’s a surprise. I’ll tell you after the show_ **

The last thing he needed was to ruin a perfectly good friendship by telling her that his dad was her boss.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_All right fine, keep your secrets. I’m going to bed. I don’t want to be late to work again. Are we still on for coffee tomorrow?_ **

Adrien smiled softly.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Yup! Good night Marinette, see you tomorrow._ **

…

Marinette really did plan to go to bed. But the racing of her heart and the pride she felt when she thought about how smoothly she was able to talk to the Hot Guy, kept her awake for hours. It was nearly two in the morning when she fell asleep. As Alya would say, she had it bad.

…

Miraculously, Marinette managed to get up on time the next morning. Even more miraculous however was the amazing mood she was in. Today would be a good day. She would go to work (and seeing as she was not in charge of running the upcoming show she would be free to start on yet another project and forget about the horror that would be Fruit of Passion), go to Dunn’s, talk to the Hot Guy, and come home for a self care night, complete with a bubble bath, candles, and a Jagged Stone record. Today was going to be a good day.

…

“Mari, I got your pieces for the show back today, I want you to try on the red piece so we can make sure it fits correctly. I know it’s your size but I want to ensure its flattering you in every way.Every detail matters.”

Marinette really thought it was gonna be a good day.

…

“Mari I’m almost impressed how well it fits you,” Audrey mused. Meanwhile, Marinette was blushing in the corner of the room trying very hard not to succumb to the instinct to cover herself. Audrey moved closer.

“You know these straps almost make it hard to tell how flat chested you are.” Marinette resented that.

“You know, I was under the impression that models were supposed to have perfect bodies. Full chests, toned stomachs, tan skin,” Marinette spat. Audrey rolled her eyes.

“Well luckily for you, we’re attempting to rebrand for the general public. Showing off average body types has become more widely accepted. Besides, that red does wonders for your pale skin. No one is going to be searching for your six pack.” Marinette groaned.

“If you’re really worried about it, you’re welcome to go to the gym,” Audrey said offhandedly. Marinette recoiled. She hated the gym. The sweat, the pain, the yelling, the stupid pictures. She’d much rather sit at home watching trashy television and sipping wine on the couch.

…

 **TEMPORARILY CLOSED** **FOR RENOVATIONS. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE**

“No!!!!” Marinette screeched. She stared at the sign on the front door, mouth open.

“Oh man, I saw the sign that they would be doing renovations soon, I didn’t realize it was today, sorry Marinette.” Marinette turned around to see the Hot Guy standing behind her.

“You mean… they had a sign?” Marinette felt stupid. How hadn’t she noticed. She was only here nearly every day of the week.

“Yeah its been up for about a month now. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it though.” Marinette glanced back at the door.

“But…. Coffee…” Marinette said, defeated. The Hot Guy laughed.

“We could always go somewhere else! I still want to hang out. What about Starbucks?” The Hot Guy sounded a little desperate. Maybe he was desperately in need of coffee too. Marinette sighed.

“Yeah lets go there, hopefully they aren’t crowded.”

…

Starbucks was definitely crowded. Nearly filled to the brim with people.

“It doesn’t look like there’s anywhere to sit,” Hot Guy said, glancing around. Marinette bit her lip.

“Um this might sound lame but we could always take our drinks back to Dunn’s and sit outside? I mean, if you aren’t busy. I know that’s a lot of time to drive back and forth.”

Hot Guy laughed.

“Sounds kind of scandalous, like cheating in your own house. I’m down if you are Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Marinette nearly swooned. The gleam in Hot Guy’s eye when he said it, the low sultry tone. She really had it bad.

“Haha, yeah well I’m gonna order…” she said awkwardly. Hot Guy smiled.

“Just tell me what you want. I’ll grab both of our drinks. Just sit tight.” Marinette gaped at him.

“Oh, uh thank you. Let me hand you some cash…” Hot Guy was shaking his head before she finished.

“Don’t worry about it, consider it thanks for letting me crash your pity party at Dunn’s the other day.”

…

Adrien kinda wanted to kick himself. _Crash your pity party?_ What an asshole thing to say. Luckily Marinette somehow didn’t seem to mind.

“Oh, thank you. Just get me an iced cocoa cloud macchiato.” Adrien smiled at her.

“No problem. I’ll be right back.” He walked over to the coffee line and waited patiently. Thankfully, even though the line had been long, the baristas moved efficiently.

“What can I get for you?” The barista looked dead inside. Circles under her eyes, a flat tone to her voice. Adrien was a little thrown. Starbucks had a very different atmosphere than Dunn’s.

“Oh, uh let me get a large mocha frappe and a large iced cocoa cloud… thing.”

“So a venti mocha frappuccino and a venti iced cocoa cloud macchiato?” Adrien blushed a little. He felt stupid in a place like this.

“Um, sure.”

“What’s the name?”

“Adrien.” The barista wrote quickly on the side of the cup.

“Your total is $10.29,” she grumbled. Adrien fished in his wallet for some cash.

“Here.” The barista counted his money and handed him the change.

“It’ll be out shortly,” she said. Adrien thought breifly that she kind of reminded him of a dead fish.

“Right,” he said quietly. He made his way back to Marinette.

“Well, it should be out in a bit,” he said cheerfully. No need to complain about how much he really did not like this establishment.

She smiled back at him. Adrien stared at her for a moment, as though for the first time. She really was pretty. She was mixed, that much was evident, even if you didn’t know her last name. She had fair skin and beautiful silk black hair. Her thick lashes brushed her cheeks when she smiled and her monolid eyes were a very astounding deep blue. He could see why Nino had such a big crush on her. She was beautiful.

“I’ve got a mocha frappucino and iced cocoa cloud macchiato for Aiden?”

…

Marinette jumped for a moment at the loud call of the barista.

“I guess that’s us,” Hot Guy grumbled, turning back to counter. Marinette immediately felt relief. Aiden. So that was his name. She can’t believe she hadn’t thought about that before. Listening for the call of the coffee. She immediately changed his contact name in her phone. Alya would be proud.

When Aiden came back, she smiled at him.

“So Aiden…” She trailed off. She hadn’t really thought of what to say, she had just wanted to try his name out. She was a little put off by the roll of his eyes.

“Oh whatever, you know that’s not really my name.” Marinette froze and laughed awkwardly.

“Ha, yeah… well I think I’m just gonna have to call you that from now on,” she said mechanically. ‘Aiden’ laughed.

“Oh no, don’t tell me this is a thing now,” he said. Marinette pulled up her phone and showed him his new contact.

“Yeah, it’s too late. That’s your new name,” she said.

“Alright, well I guess that’s just part of making new frineds. They always find cruel and unusual ways of making fun of you. Come on Mari, lets go back to Dunn’s.” Mari followed closely behind him and facepalmed. How the hell did she get stuck in these ridiculous situations?

_I did a quick sketch based on my description of Marinette's eyes and it's not exactly how I see her tbh but I thought it was cute. If you wanna see my aged up, monolid sketch of mari,[here](https://andtheyweredeskmates.tumblr.com/post/618163864727650304/i-kind-of-wanted-to-play-with-the-idea-of) it is_


	9. What a Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrienette interactions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been like a week since the last time I updated this so I wanted to get something in here. I'm still mapping out how I want this story to go but it's been really encouraging to read everyone's comments and seeing the kudos so thanks so much for the support! Also does it bother anyone how much dialogue I use? I like using it a story telling technique but reading a few fanfics I noticed authors apologizing a lot for using too much dialogue and it made me feel self concious... I don't know I'm rambling at this point please read my story lol

Marinette was surprised at how comfortable she was with “Aiden”. She sipped happily on her coffee and let her brain pool with ease. Conversation was easy. They didn’t know much about each other (or at least she didn’t know much about him) and once she got over the fact that he was the hottest guy she’d ever seen, she was able to put herself in what Alya called “super hero mode”. The ability to save any conversation from plummeting to an uncomfortable death. It helped a little that her company was just as friendly.

“So Marinette, do you think I can call you Mari?” She blushed a little.

“Oh, yeah that’s what all my friends called me,” she said with a small smile.

“Perfect!” he gushed. Marinette really needed to learn his name. She could not keep calling him Hot Guy or Aiden. Marinette reached out to his coffee cup.

“Did the barista at least spell your name right on the cup?” She tilted the plastic towards her, looking hopeful. “Aiden” laughed.

“I don’t think anyone would be able to read that chicken scratch.” Marinette was disappointed to see he was right. There was no way in hell anyone would be able to read that.

“I would probably be just as bad as a barista,” Marinette admitted glumly, retreating back to her seat. “Aiden” cocked his head to the side.

“You think so? You’re pretty friendly. And you obviously know how to deal with difficult people if you’re able to work with Gabriel Agreste and Audrey Bourgeois.” Marinette laughed.

“Well, I’ve never actually met Gabriel in person but Audrey is something else.”

“Oh, you’ve never met Gabriel?” Marinette shook her head.

“No, I’ve always wanted to though.”

Marinette scowled. “I’ll get my chance soon enough,” she added sourly.

“Why do you always look so angry when you talk about the new show? Aren’t you excited?”

“Uh… its nothing. Why don’t we talk about your job! You haven’t actually told me what you do,” Marinette sputtered. The smile that appeared on the man’s face in front of her was so subtle and adorable, Marinette was positive that no matter what came out of his mouth, she would probably be able to listen to him talk about it for hours.

“Well, I work at a non profit organization where doctors perform treatments for people who don’t have enough money to pay for them otherwise. We get a lot of foreigners so I was hired as a translater.” Marinette gaped for a moment.

“Oh… wow. That’s awesome. That’s a lot cooler than what I do…” she muttered.

“So, what language do you speak? Or… Languages?” She asked. “Aiden” laughed.

“Well, I speak French, obviously, English and Chinese.” Marinette smiled at him.

“Wow, you’re pretty amazing.” When she saw him blush she immediately started stuttering again.

“I mean- uh well it’s really amazing that you can speak Chinese. I’m actually half Chinese you, know,” she gestured briefly to her face, “but I don’t speak any Chinese.”

“I could teach you if you want.” Marinette blinked and “Aiden” flushed, rubbing the back of his neck self-conciously.

“I mean! Only if you want. It’s a really beautiful language!” Marinette smiled at him. She was starting to notice that how similar they were.

“That would be awesome,” she assured him.

…

The longer Adrien sat on the patio with Marinette, the more he realized that he really liked her. She was beautiful, passionate and -most importantly- unbelievably positive, a trait that was not always easy to find. Conversation flowed like a river and he was floating.

He’d always been good at talking to people really. He was polite and sociable and he knew how friendly he came across. Maybe sometimes a little too friendly. He was trying very hard to monitor that now.

“So Mari, have you decided if you’re gonna be my date to the after party?” He was failing.

“I mean- have you thought about hanging out with me at the after party,” he said quickly. He really needed to think a little harder before he said things out loud. He wished he could have Nino in his head, approving the words that came out of his mouth before he hit “Speak”.

Marinette blushed and she opened her mouth before closing it.

“Do you not want to? That’s okay. Parties aren’t everyone’s scene!” Marinette sighed.

“No it’s not that I don’t want to. I’d love to. I’ll just have to see what happens. It’s gonna be a long night and… well… I don’t want to say yes and bail on you.” Adrien nodded.

“Yeah that makes sense. Thank you for that. I’ve been bailed on a lot and it’s not fun,” he admitted.

“You? That’s crazy,” Marinette snorted. Adrien gave her a puzzled look.

“Why?” Her eyes widened.

“Um… because… you’re…. just very nice. I’m surprised people would be able to bail on you without feeling terrible about it.” Adrien rolled his eyes a little.

“I wish that’s how that worked. Unfortunately it just means people think they can bail on me because they know I won’t get upset with them.”

“That’s terrible!” Marinette exclaimed. Adrien jumped a little but Marinette scowled at him.

“You shouldn’t let people take advantage of you like that. You should stand up for yourself and tell everyone to fuck off.” Adrien stared wide eyed at Marinette.

“Where did that come from?” Mari sighed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell but I hate that. I have three things that I can’t stand. Lying, fringe, and people who think its okay to just take advantage of other people.”

“Fringe?” Adrien asked with a laugh. Marinette slammed her coffee down on the table.

“Don’t even get me started on that ridiculous, stupid hippie trend,” she fumed. Adrien laughed harder.

“I kind of want to get a fringe bracelet to wear everytime I see you just so I can watch you make your angry face, its cute.” Adrien grinned widely at Marinette.

“You suck,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Oh come on, that’s such a random trend to get caught up on. Why not, bell bottoms or leg warmers? Really, fringe?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you AIDEN,” she shot back. Adrien laughed again.

“All right, all right.” Adrien saw Marinette glance at her phone.

“Do you have to go?” he asked. Marinette sighed.

“Yeah, my best friend is apparently having a crisis,” she admitted. Adrien checked the time on his own phone.

“Oh shit, have we really been here for two hours?” Marinette raised an eyebrow,

“You better watch your language,” she said with a smirk.

“What!?” he gasped. “You just said fuck not even three minutes ago!” Marinette giggled a little as she gathered her things. It sounded like bells tinkling and Adrien thought it might have been one of the cutest things he ever heard.

“I’ll see you soon?” he asked, sounding almost dazed as he looked at her face.

“Yeah, I’ll let you know the next time I’m out for coffee. Who knows hown long this place is gonna be out of commision for and I’m not very adventurous,” she said, getting up to leave. Adrien stood up and gave her a hug.

“Great, it was nice to hang out with you Mari,” he said sincerely. They pulled away and Marinette smiled shyly.

“Yeah it was nice to hang out with you too.”

As she walked away Adrien stared after her and he couldn’t help but grin. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. What a woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo we found out more about Adrien's job and I'm sure you can't wait to hear about Alya's crisis! Thanks so much for reading guys! If anyone is interested, I do a lot of fanart (for some of my other nerdy obssessions as well) but I started an instagram specifically for my miraculous fanart so if people are interested I'd love to link it in the next chapter for you guys!


	10. Best Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emergency best friend meetings and feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long I'm literally working 50 hours a week right now we are so understaffed. But in better news, I actually got to write this chapter at Dunn Bros, the coffee shop I based this fic on so that was awesome. Another unimportant side note, the barista I based the character "Tim" off of was totally there and he totally made my coffee and it was awesome. Bless Tim, he's been making my coffee at that coffee shop for almost 5 years,

Marinette had mixed feelings about going to see Alya. On the one hand, she was excited to see what warranted an “emergency meeting.” Alya calling for an emergency meeting usually had more to do with drama than an actual emergency. Which Marinette didn’t mind listening to. But on the other hand, when Alya had finished ranting, Marinette knew to expect a line of questioning regarding her newest friend and Marinette knew that Alya was not going to like her answers. When Marinette arrived at Alya’s apartment she knocked timidly. Alya did not respond in kind when she opened the door.

“Ohmigod get in here, now!” Alya grabbed Marinette’s arm and pulled her into the apartment.

Marinette stumbled in, eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?” Alya pushed Marinette to the couch and shut the door behind her.

“You will NEVER believe what happened to me today!”

Marinette grinned wickedly. “Oh?”

“I met my future husband today and it was in-fucking-credible.” Alya grinned back and Marinette giggled.

“Do tell.” Alya took a seat next to Marinette, facing Marinette with her legs crossed.

“Okay! So, I was at work and my manager asked me to do an interview with this new radio host at KRBE. It sounded super lame and out of my league so I was a little upset… So I show up and I’m not gonna lie, I was a little bitchy...” Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Okay, nothing new, go on.”

“Well, I meet him and he’s completely oblivious to my mood, well, that or he was ignoring it, and he’s giving me this super high energy which I was totally not expecting. And he’s talking and talking and he is talking like he’s never been happier which of course get’s me kind of excited because I love the vibes guys give off when they’re super excited about something. It’s adorable. So I kind of get lost listening to him and forget its supposed to be an interview and just have a 3 hour long conversation with him about his radio station and the music he likes to play and before I know it, he is asking me for my number. Of course, I said yes because he was freaking adorable. Mari, he’s totally tall, dark and handsome which you know is my type.” Marinette nodded, signaling for Alya to continue.

“So we’re talking via text because, you know I had to go back to work and he tells me he went to Dupont High School, which is where you went. So I tell him that my best friend went there and we started talking about you! Anyways, long story short, you totally know him and I need you to give me your stamp of approval and tell me he’s amazing so I can keep talking to him.”

Marinette bit back a laugh.

“Okay… Don’t leave me hanging here, what’s his name?”

“Nino Lahiffe.” Marinette’s eyes widened a little.

“Oh, yeah I totally know him, we were in the same class.” Alya sighed impatiently.

“Okay so what do you think?” Marinette scratched her head a little.

“I don’t know Alya, he was always super nice but that was a long time ago. I mean I’m totally different. I can’t just tell you if he’s still a good guy or worth dating!” Alya rolled her eyes.

“Ugh you are thinking way too hard about this. I’m not asking you to tell me that he’s my soulmate, I just want to know he wasn’t some massive jerk back in the day with obvious asshole tendencies.” Marinette laughed.

“Okay fine, he was a super nice guy with no obvious asshole tendencies.” Alya’s grin returned.

“Thank you. Now, I haven’t even gotten to the best part.” Marinette smirked.

“Okay, what’s the best part?” Marinette asked sarcastically. Alya’s grin widened.

“He told me that it’s totally crazy that we met because apparently his best friend just started talking to you a few days ago and he’s totally into you.” Marinette choked.

“No way… you don’t think its…” Alya nodded furiously.

“It’s totally got to be the hot guy you’ve been telling me about.” Marinette’s jaw dropped. In an instant there were about 25 scenarios going through Marinette’s head. Most notably, one where her, Alya, Nino and Hot Guy went on double dates and played video games together and had kids who were all best friends with each other, and they had little playdates and-

“Hello, earth to Mari! Isn’t this amazing?” Mari looked back at Alya with a sort of faraway expression.

“Yeah,” she said distantly, a little smile tugging at her mouth.

“Sooooo, before I can commence with planning the rest of our lives, I need you to tell about him!” Marinette snapped back to reality.

“About who?”

“About your hot guy, you blockhead!” Alya swatted at Marinette’s shoulder. Marinette smiled apologetically.

“Right… well, I got his number and we started talking and we were kind of hanging out together before you texted me-“ Alya smacked Marinette’s shoulder again.

“You were on a date!?” Marinette sighed.

“Not exactly, we’re just friends right now. But I learned a lot about him!”

“Did you learn his name?”

Marinette winced. That was exactly what Marinette was dreading. She considered briefly jumping out the window. She was only on the second floor, she’d survive that.

“Mari? Tell me you learned his name,” Alya said threateningly. Marinette cringed.

“I learned that his name is not Aiden.” Alya deadpanned.

“What the hell does that mean?” Marinette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously and brought her knees to her chest.

“Well, it seemed awkward to ask him his name because he already knew mine so when we went to Starbucks today, I heard them call his name for our drinks, except they said his name wrong so… I’ve still got no idea what his real name is.” Alya stared at her with a grimace for a very long time and Marinette slowly brought her knees closer and closer to her chest.

“You’re an idiot.”

…

Adrien sat comfortably on his couch while he played his game. When his phone buzzed he picked it up quickly, and frankly a little disappointed to see it was just Nino calling.

“Hello?”

“I’m coming over.”

Adrien chuckled. “Okay, I’m playing Modern Warfare, want to play?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I do. When I said I was coming over, I really meant I’m here so can you buzz me in?” Adrien laughed.

“Yeah, you know one of these days you’re gonna come over here without telling me and I’m not gonna be home.” Nino scoffed.

“Yeah right dude, we both know you have nothing better to do than hang out with me.” Adrien buzzed Nino in and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, just come up.”

When Nino came in, he had a look on his face that made Adrien cock an eyebrow. He handed Nino a controller cautiously.

“What’s up with you?” he asked. Nino sat down next to Adrien and took the controller.

“Something happened today and I don’t know how to feel about it.” Adrien glanced at Nino even more cautiously.

“Okay…” Adrien started a new game.

“Are you gonna tell me what happened?” Nino sat forward and focused his eyes on the television.

“I met a girl today.” Adrien laughed.

“Okay, that’s awesome.” Guns fired loudly marking the start of the game.

“Yeah, she is super awesome, but I found out that she’s best friends with Marinette.”

Adrien paused for a second too long and cursed as his PC died.

“That’s crazy…” he muttered. Nino glanced back at Adrien out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah… it’s weird.” Adrien scrunched up his face as he tried to maneuver his player stealthily around a corner.

“Why is it weird?”

“Well, I don’t know, I used to crush really hard on Marinette. Wouldn’t it be weird for me to date her best friend?” Adrien tensed a little.

“Do you still have a crush on Marinette?” Nino shrugged.

“No, I mean I haven’t seen her in years and its obvious you like her but… its still weird.” Adrien cursed again watching his PC die and bounced his leg impatiently as he waited to respawn.

“What do you mean its obvious I like her?” Nino laughed.

“You’re such an idiot. I know you had coffee with her today, I saw it on your story. You’ve been talking to her nonstop for days. You don’t just do that with a new friend.” Adrien pressed pause on the game.

“What the hell man?” Nino exclaimed.

“So, what if I do like her? Is it less weird for you to talk to her best friend then?” Nino shifted uncomfortably.

“I mean, I don’t know, maybe. Are you gonna date her?” It was Adrien’s turn to be uncomfortable. He pressed play on the game again.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. Adrien thought about the idea of dating Marinette. Teaching her Chinese. Getting coffee together every day. Going to shows with her, supporting her work, maybe even modeling it in the house to help her get measurements right.

“I mean, it would be pretty cool if worked out ya know. Us dating best friends.” Adrien said thoughtfully. Nino chuckled darkly.

“Yeah and it would be pretty fucking uncool if it didn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know there wasn't a lot of plot here but I really wanted Adrien to finally admit to himself that he see's himself developing feelings for Mari which is a really big deal for him! I'm hoping to get another chapter up Friday because I'm actually off of work then so be patient with me please! Also, I'm loving the feedback, it's making me so happy to read! Thank you guys so much for reading!


	11. I Am Adrien Agreste and I Can Talk to a Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is trying way too hard and Marinette is still overthinking everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter. I got to go back to Dunn's and Tim made my coffee again today and everything is right with the world.

It was a long time before Adrien got to see Marinette again. He was sure to text her at least every night, asking about her day, getting to know her, but Marinette was working long hours to help Audrey prepare for the upcoming show, so she didn’t have time to go our for more coffee. Adrien considered a few times to offer to bring her dinner, but he felt nervous. Upon Nino’s recommendation however, he did attempt to flirt with her. Unfortunately that wasn’t really going according to plan.

When he tried his lines came out a little like this:

**Coffee Buddy:**

**_So you have a cat? I bet she’s not as cute as you_ **

Or

**_You’re parent’s make sweets? I’d love to sample the goods._ **

And finally, his most recent disaster

**_The only thing that would make your lingerie line better is you wearing it_ **

Adrien hit his head back against the headboard.

“WHY.” Smack.

“DID.” Smack.

“I.” Smack.

“SAY.” Smack.

“THAT.” Smack.

It was official. He was an idiot. He was coming on too strong and he knew it. He’d always imagined that when he finally met the girl of his dreams he’d be suave and cool and he was anything but. He’d never had issues with girls before… although he’d never really been that interested in one either. Of course, texting was making everything worse. He had no idea how she was really reacting to his comments behind the screen and it was making him crazy. It’s been nearly two weeks since he’d seen Marinette and he was starting to think she might never want to see him again.

At the sound of his phone buzzing he lunged for it.

…

Marinette was bright red. She stared at her phone while her brain attempted to reboot itself. She thought up a thousand ways to respond, no- a million. They ranged from “Thank you” to “Well do I have a surprise for you” but she couldn’t bring herself to type any of them. She’d been texting her hot man friend for two weeks now and she felt like a teenager. It was fun and exciting and unbelievably nerve wrecking. She wasn’t completely dumb. She could tell he was flirting. But she also wasn’t entirely convinced that he liked her as much as she liked him and that was terrifying. For god’s sakes that’s exactly why she had broken up with Luka. She just couldn’t return the same feelings that he was showing her. She was beginning to realize how awful that feeling must have been.

Her mind was going every where at once. Surely it shouldn’t take this much effort to respond to a flirty text. Do normal people have this problem?

“Marinette!” Marinette jumped and dropped her phone on the floor.

“Ah!” She yelped.

“You are so jumpy, what are you doing? You’re staring at you’re phone like its going to eat you. Can we focus please?” Audrey was standing in the corner of the conference room, leaning against the wall. She had a dry erase marker in her hand and she was writing on the window which was acting as their makeshift drawing board.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” Marinette apologized. She bent down to pick up her phone and nearly shrieked again when she saw it. It was absolutely fucking destroyed.

…

Adrien pouted when he saw it was just Nino texting him.

**DJ Bubbler**

**_Hey man, I think me and Alya are actually gonna go grab a bite to eat. You mind if I bail tonight._ **

Adrien sighed.

**Adrikins**

**_Nah its cool. I’ll probably go to bed early_ **

That was a lie. Adrien knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he got some sort of response to his text. He was a worrier by nature and he wasn’t really sure why he thought that wouldn’t apply to women. It was Friday and he didn’t have to work tomorrow so staying up all night wasn’t really a problem, but his sanity was already starting to waver. The scenarios in his head were endless.

Maybe she’s just busy at work? She doesn’t have her read receipts on so there’s no way of knowing I’ve been left on read but if she doesn’t have time to respond, I can’t be upset.

Maybe she thought it was such a cute, flirty text she literally died. Adrien wondered briefly if that was considered manslaughter.

Maybe she thinks Adrien is a total idiot and doesn’t want to talk to him anymore. That was clearly the worst-case scenario here.

Adrien couldn’t handle the stress so he hatched a plan.

…

Marinette couldn’t help but be antsy throughout the rest of her late night meeting. It was nine o clock and she still had no idea what to say back to “Aiden”. Not that she had a way of responding anyway. She’s definitely going to have to get a new phone.

“I don’t know what your freaking out about Mari, just buy a new one, you aren’t exactly poor,” Audrey had said rolling her eyes. “I ought to know, I’m paying you.” Marinette didn’t know how to explain that it wasn’t the purchase of a new phone that was the problem. But it wasn’t just her boy problems that was distracting Marinette. She hadn’t eaten since her lunch break at noon and she was starving.

Audrey seemed oblivious to Marinette’s lack of presence. She was currently berating Marinette’s assistant about how everything better be perfect or he would definitely be

“-Fired. Understand Fabio?” The assistant was so terrified he didn’t even bother to mention that his name was really Francis. He just nodded feverishly.

The meeting was interrupted by Audrey’s secretary.

“Um, excuse me miss, there’s someone here to see Marinette.” Audrey glanced at the secretary with a look of interest.

“Oh? Who?”

“I’m not sure ma’am he just asked that he could bring her some dinner.” Marinette was suddenly very present. Who on earth would come here to bring her food? Audrey grinned.

“Well why don’t you send him in?”

…

Adrien’s plan was fairly solid. He would just bring her food in and talk to her. It would be pretty obvious if she didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

The secretary came back to the front desk and eased into her chair.

“Go on in to conference room B, sweetheart. It’s just down the hall.” Adrien nodded and smiled.

“Thank you.” He made his way down the hallway with determination, forcing himself to be confident.

“I am Adrien Agreste and I can talk to a woman.” He muttered to himself. He opened the door and walked in tucking the Chinese food he had under his arm.

When he looked up he saw three people gathered around a large table, staring at him.

“Adrien?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it clear to you guys that the contact names are based on who's texting who? If not I'm probably gonna edit this so that it's just their names to be more clear. Anyways I hope you liked this chapter I honestly might write another one today just because I am literally teeming with ideas. Anyways thank you guys so much for reading! I'm trying to respond to comments as much as I can but my email is kind of stupid and it's not notifying me very often to let me know that people are commenting so bear with me


	12. Confession Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You like me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do I think I am, posting two chapters in one day? I had so many ideas today guys it was awesome. I actually think I know how to wrap this up now (Don't worry there's still at least 5 chapters left) which is crazy because I've started like 20 WIP fics and not finished any of them but the feedback has really motivated me to keep going! Thank yall so much.

So maybe Adrien didn’t have that solid of a plan. He hadn’t considered that Audrey would be here which now that he thought about it was stupid of him. It’s not like he didn’t know she was Marinette’s boss.

“Uh, hey Audrey,” he said awkwardly.

“Adrien!” Marinette stood up from her chair. Adrien jumped a little.

“Uh, hey Mari, I figured you would be working late so I thought I’d bring you something to eat.” Adrien shifted a little uncomfortably.

“I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t interrupt anything did I?”

“Oh no, it was nothing important Adrien. I actually think that’s all for tonight, Marinette. Why don’t you and Adrien enjoy your dinner.” Audrey said, amused.

“Wait!” Marinette called out, confused.

“Audrey how do you know… Adrien?” Marinette turned her back to Adrien just long enough for him to stare at Audrey intensely and shake his head no. He wasn’t ready for her to know about his father just yet.

“Oh, he’s friends with my daughter, Chloe,” Audrey said offhandedly. Adrien sighed with relief.

Audrey started to exit the room, shooting little knowing glances at Marinette and dragging the assistant behind her.

“Anyways, come on Fernando, you and I still have some things to talk about. See you two later!”

“But-“ Marinette’s protest fell on deaf ears as the door shut quickly behind Audrey.

Once Audrey and the assistant left the room, Marinette and Adrien were left alone in an awkward silence.

Finally, Adrien spoke up.

“I brought you some Chinese. I remembered you saying you like lo mein.” Marinette nodded, still red in the face.

“Can I sit?” Adrien asked, gesturing to the empty seat next to her. Marinette nodded again. Adrien sat next to her and started pulling out food, handing her a box labeled “LM” and pulling out his own sweet and sour chicken.

“Thanks for the food,” Marinette finally said. Adrien smiled at her.

“It’s no problem. I figured I hadn’t seen you in a while. Wanted to make sure you weren’t dead and there wasn’t some random girl posing as you texting me from your phone.” Adrien wanted to shoot himself in the foot. How did he manage to say the stupidest possible thing?

Marinette giggled.

“Nope, still alive. Barely.”

“How was work today?” Adrien asked. Marinette sighed.

“Long. Per usual. I’m ready for all this to be over.” Adrien nodded.

“Well it’s a lot of work but it’s gonna be great! I can’t wait to see the way it all turns out next week!” Marinette blushed again and looked away, causing Adrien started to panic a little.

“I’m sorry if my text was a little much!” he blurted.

…

Marinette wasn’t entirely sure how she got here. One minute she was in a very intense meeting that she wasn’t really paying attention to and the next she was sitting next to the boy she was hopelessly crushing on. She couldn’t believe her luck. But there was a lot going on there. For one, she finally figured out that his name was Adrien. For another he’d brought her dinner which was an unbelievably sweet action all on its own. And finally, he brought her favorite food of all time. She could kiss him. After she managed to escape her own brain.

“Thanks for the food.” A whole sentence. She could do this. She could speak words and form sentences without thinking too had about things.

“It’s no problem. I figured I hadn’t seen you in a while. Wanted to make sure you weren’t dead and there wasn’t some random girl posing as you texting me from your phone.” Marinette giggled. She liked Adrien’s sense of humor. He had a way of taking her mind off of things she’d rather not think about.

“Nope, still alive. Barely,” she admitted. She was physically exhausted.

“How was work today?” Adrien asked.

“Long. Per usual. I’m ready for all this to be over.” That was true. She was easily putting in 60-70 hours a week. Not to mention the fact that the closer the show came the more nervous she was getting.

“Well it’s a lot of work but it’s gonna be great! I can’t wait to see the way it all turns out next week!” Marinette’s brain went into overdrive. She started thinking about the text Adrien sent and what he would think when she went across the platform next week. Sure her and Audrey had practiced relentlessly and she could finally do a catwalk in heels without embarrassing herself but she still wasn’t ready to parade herself in lingerie. She especially wasn’t ready to parade herself in lingerie in front of Adrien.

“I’m sorry if my text was a little much!” Marinette turned her head back to Adrien and her eyes widened.

“No! No! I’m sorry, I never know what to say to guys I like and I dropped my phone and it broke and then I COULDN’T respond to you and then Audrey started yelling at me to pay attention and there’s just a lot going one right now with the show and-“ she was rambling. To the point that she didn’t even realize what she was saying. Before she could speak anymore, she noticed Adrien smiling widely at her.

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

“You like me?” he asked smugly. Marinette stiffened. She couldn’t believe she said that.

“Uh…” Marinette’s brain was fried. It was yet to be determined if the damage was permanent.

“Well Mari you know I really like you too.” Marinette’s face lit up.

“Really?” she asked hopefully. Adrien laughed.

“Wasn’t it obvious? I wasn’t exactly subtle.” Marinette shyly tucked a hair behind her ear.

“Well, I don’t know. I knew you liked me at least a little bit but I thought maybe I was way more into you than you were into me and it made me nervous.” Adrien laughed again and took her hand in his.

“Well I don’t know about that but I promise that I don’t just bring dinner to girls at 9:30 at night if I don’t really like them.” Marinette smiled widely. Adrien let go of her hand and pulled chopsticks out of the bag, handing one set to Marinette.

“I have an idea,” he said, unwrapping his chopsticks. Marinette did the same.

“What is it?” she asked. Adrien took a bite of his chicken and chewed for what seemed an hour. Marinette waited impatiently.

“Why don’t I take you on a real date? Before the show. And if you decide that I’m totally lame then you can ignore me for the rest of my life. If you decide that I’m amazing then you have to promise to be my date to the after party of Fruit of Passion.” Marinette bit her lip as she opened her box. She wondered if he’d still want to be her date after the fashion show. Maybe he’d think she wasn’t modest enough. Or realize how pale she really was. Should she tell him?

No. She needed to have more confidence in herself. He wanted to take her on a date. Besides. For all she knew, the date would be terrible and she wouldn’t have anything to worry about. He would watch her walk the catwalk and think “Thank god I avoided that” while she ignored him and pretended to be sexy. Sounded like a problem for future Marinette.

“Deal.” Adrien grinned at her and extended a hand.

“Wanna shake on it?” Marinette giggled at him.

“Why not.”


	13. Confidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gains confidence and Adrien loses some

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I went ahead and added another link for the red piece at the end of the chapter in case some of you didn't get to see it in one of the previous chapters. I'm a little inspired to draw Mari in the red piece so maybe if enough people ask I'll draw it and post on the chapter that I write for Fruit of Passion!

Marinette was anxious for her date with Adrien. It was set to be exactly one week before Fruit of Passion and Marinette found herself burying herself in her work to keep her mind off her nerves. That of course didn't work so well because she wasn’t exactly excited for her catwalk either. Audrey insisted that Marinette would practice in the red piece for the rest of the week to gain a little confidence. Marinette was skeptical that walking around in lingerie for a week would do anything for her confidence.

Meanwhile the texting between her and Adrien had not ceased. And neither had his flirty comments. It seemed that after her confession, he had only grown more bold and Marinette was secretly loving it.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_I have a couple of ideas about our date, have a few questions for you before I decide._ **

Marinette smiled in her bed, peeking from under her covers to read the texts on her phone.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Okay, hit me_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_How do you feel about alcohol?_ **

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_It’s great. But if I’m hungover for work I might kill you_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Noted, what about cats?_ **

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Really?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Right, stupid question. How about sushi?_ **

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Can I guess where your going with this?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_You could. But that would ruin the surprise princess_ **

Marinette couldn’t help but blush whenever he called her that.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_You know this surprise date is only in two days. You better figure it out soon. I don’t even know where I’m going._ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Surely you know me well enough by now to know I’ll be picking you up. I take pride in being a purrfect gentlemen_ **

Marinette rolled her eyes.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_I know you well enough to know you’re a purrfect dork_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_It’s all part of my charm._ **

Marinette glanced at the clock. It was already midnight and she had to be at work bright and early at 8 am.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Well, Mr. Prince Charming I have to be up early for work tomorrow so I’m going to bed. I’ll talk to you in the morning._ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Sweet dreams princess_ **

…

“Has anyone ever told you that your disgusting?”

Nino was sitting next to Adrien on the couch peering over his shoulder. Adrien grinned back at Nino.

“Don’t act like you don’t send cute things to Alya,” Adrien said. Nino scoffed.

“No, unlike you, I play it cool.” Adrien stood up and walked into the kitchen to grab another slice of pizza.

“So you’re an asshole?” Nino crossed his arms over his chest.

“No, I just leave her wanting a little more. Don’t want her to think I want her too much because then she might think I’m too clingy.” Adrien chuckled.

“Ah I see. I forgot that you are all knowing and wise in the ways of women.”

“Shut up. Not everyone just has to look at a woman to woo her,” Nino grumbled.

“Woo her? How old are you? A hundred?” Adrien plopped down on the couch and shoved the pizza in his mouth.

“You know what I mean. I guess if anything I should just be happy that you’re showing an interest in someone. Even if you are acting like a lovesick dope.”

“Sure, sure. I’m the weirdo because I’m not trying too hard and just say what I mean.” Nino laughed.

“Oh so being disgustingly sweet comes naturally to you huh? Alright Cupid, you wanna tell me what your planning for your date?” Adrien took another bite.”

“Nope,” he said with his mouth full. Nino grimaced.

“What!? Why not?” Adrien swallowed.

“Because stupid, you’re gonna tell Alya and Alya is gonna tell Mari and it won’t be a surprise anymore.” Nino started to speak and then stopped. Adrien raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you don’t have anything to say about that do you? I know you and I have vicariously learned from both you and Mari that Alya doesn’t know when to stop talking so I will not be sharing any of my plans with you. And just to piss you off, I’m gonna tell you that I already told Chloe about it.”

Nino lost it.

“WHAT!? That’s a low blow.” Adrien cackled.

“Well unlike you, Chloe can keep a secret.” Nino furrowed his brow.

“I resent that.” Then Nino’s eyes started to shine with an evil gleam.

“But you know what, just to prove you wrong, I know something you don’t know and I’m not gonna tell you.” Adrien rolled his eyes.

“Is that so?” Nino chuckled darkly.

“Yup, and it’s about Mari. Oh man when you find out you’re gonna be so mind blown and you’re gonna call me and all I’m gonna do is laugh in your face.” Adrien’s interest was piqued.

“Is it… bad?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know lover boy?”

…

Marinette didn’t have to beg Audrey for very long to get off early that Friday. There were however…. stipulations.

“Audrey I hate to ask this but can I please leave early today?” Marinette had very low expectations. Audrey had been in a foul mood for the past three days which is precisely why Marinette had waited so long to ask but she was out of options.

“Why?” Audrey asked bluntly. She hadn’t even bothered to look up at Marinette. She was too busy typing away at her computer. Marinette glanced around the massive office that belonged to Audrey Bourgeois and began to wonder if she should just cancel the date altogether. She couldn’t go anywhere if Audrey killed her.

“Um, well I got asked on a date tonight and-“ Audrey immediately stopped typing and her head snapped up to look at Marinette with glee.

“By Adrien?” Marinette’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Uh, yeah,” she said cautiously.

“What time is your date?” Marinette glanced at the clock briefly. It was currently 10 am.

“It’s at 8 tonight.” Audrey grinned.

“Marinette my love you will be out of here by 5 but I have one condition.” Marinette nodded her head quickly.

“Anything!” she shouted.

“You are going to practice on the runway, in your red piece in front of my entire staff.”

“ _Anything but that,”_ Mari thought miserably. Marinette hung her head.

“Don’t be so dramatic. You have to do it in front of dozens of high profile designers in a week. You can handle my measly staff.”

“I’m part of your staff,” Marinette mumbled resentfully.

“You know what I mean. Go get changed. I’ll have everyone in the runway room by noon. You have till then to get ready.”

…

Adrien had a very hard time focusing at work. He was only filling out paperwork but he couldn’t clear his mind for a second. He couldn’t stop thinking about Marinette and what Nino said. Maybe she said had some terrible disease? Or she was moving to another country to accept a higher position? Or maybe she had a secret lover?

He couldn’t help but imagine the worst. He figured he could just ask her. He’d be seeing her tonight. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Like she secretly liked to cosplay or something. Adrien hadn’t been nervous about their date but now he was terrified. He made a mental note to unfriend Nino.

“Hey Adrien?” Adrien jumped and turned around.

“Y-yes sir?” His boss, Fu was right behind him giving him a very concerned look.

“Are you feeling okay? You’ve been staring off into space for an hour.” Adrien chuckled apologetically.

“Yeah sorry, just got a lot on my mind,” he admitted ruefully.

“Why don’t you go home? You can finish your paperwork on Monday. You’ve been very productive this week.” Adrien smiled.

“Thank you sir,” he said. He started backing up his things and organizing his desk.

At least now he could brood in private.

…

Marinette hyped herself up in the mirror. One of Audrey’s stylists had come in to do minimal makeup and put up her hair. Marinette had to admit that if she was home alone, she would have felt very sexy. But there was difference between wearing lingerie at home alone and putting on a show for a hundred people.

“You are Marinette Dupain-Cheng and you can do anything. You are hot and you are gonna show everyone!” she told herself.

“That’s the spirit!” Marinette jumped and screamed.

“Ahh! How long have you been standing there?” Audrey laughed.

“You look great. Calm down. That was a wonderful pep talk. Now go out there and show you stuff.” Marinette bit her lip.

“I don’t know about this Audrey.” Audrey sighed.

“Look, Gabriel and I have been collaborating night and day for this show. You worked really hard and your line was way better than any of the other designers Gabriel commissioned for this show. I wanted you to model this piece because you put everything into it. It’s beautiful, its sexy and it’s classic. This is your work. Be proud of it. Show everyone that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is talented in every way. I want you to stand out and I want you to be recognized. So, help me help you. You’re the finale. The last girl to walk the runway. Be the fireworks. Understand?” Marinette let out a long breath and nodded. Audrey was much better at pep talks than she was.

“Alright, you know your cue. The music is about to start. So go out there and own it!” And just like that the music started. Before Marinette could talk herself out she held her head high and went on stage.

…

Even Audrey was a little in awe. Marinette walked the runway with more confidence than Audrey had ever seen in her. The sharp angles of her body moved fluidly and it was almost enchanting. Marinette was captivating and she unlocked a side of herself that no one had ever seen. Audrey found herself filled with immense pride.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng you are a star,” she whispered to herself.

[The Red Piece](https://andtheyweredeskmates.tumblr.com/post/617977653751922688/the-concept-art-for-my-fic-of-lattes-and-lingerie)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Audrey POV! Also I'm v v excited to write the next chapter and I'm actually off today so maybe I'll actually post again tonight. Who knows. Also can you see where I'm going with this date? Hope you guys enjoyed!


	14. Getting Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're about to go on their date :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. My. God. I am so sorry that it took me this long to update and I'm double sorry that this is all I have for you guys right now. This has been the craziest couple of weeks ever. I got in a car accident, had to have mino surgery, broke up with my boyfriend of five years, and worked like a million bajillion hours. So, I am going to try really hard to get another update out on Thursday but there's so much going on right now that I don't really know what's gonna happen. Thanks for being patient with me! Please accept this small filler as a token of apology.

When Marinette got off work at 5 she felt relieved. For one because she managed to leave at such an unbelievable time. For another, she had also managed to practice, in front of other people and not embarrass herself. When Marinette got home she fed Tikki, brewed a cup of coffee and ran a bath. The stylist that had dolled her up had done an impeccable job on her hair and makeup and Marinette had every intention of utilizing that tonight. She would likely have to touch up her makeup a bit but her hair was secured with an array of bobby pins in a gorgeous updo that Marinette didn’t dare touch. When the bath water was just shy of boiling, Marinette stepped in and let every worry flow out of her.

Once she settled in, she texted Adrien.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_You never told me how to dress for this surprise date_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_That’s true_ **

Marinette rolled her eyes.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Okay smart ass, are you gonna tell me now?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**I don’t know. Whatever you want. Probably whatever your wearing now is fine.**

Marinette snorted.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_I somehow doubt that. C’mon, give me something. Do I need to wear a dress, sweat pants, a derby hat?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Yes, all of the above._ **

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Well if you don’t tell me what to wear before I get out of this tub than you can go on the date by yourself._ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_You’re in the tub?_ **

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Not for much longer, the clock is ticking and you need to get your mind out of the gutter._ **

Marinette set her phone down on the edge of the tub and sunk into the water letting it rise up to her neck. Hot water always had a way of relieving the tension in her muscles. She lingered in the hot soapy water for almost 30 minutes before deciding to get out, all the while imagining what kind of date she was about to go on and sort of hyping herself up for it. She checked her phone to see if Adrien had decided to be more forthcoming.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Okay, Okay! Dress cute casual (that’s a thing right?)_ **

Marinette chuckled.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Yes, that’s a thing. I’ll see you at 8_ **

Marinette felt relaxed getting dressed and ready for her date. There wasn’t much to do and she really only felt the need to touch up her makeup before getting dressed in her favorite jeans and blouse. Cute casual had always been her favorite. She played her music and danced around the bathroom as the melody echoed off the walls.

At 6:30 Marinette was dressed and ready and brewing herself a cup of coffee. This was the first time that Marinette had ever been dressed and ready for an occasion on time, let alone early. She decided to pass the time with a fresh, piping hot, cup o’ joe and her sketch pad where she doodled her ideas away. She felt satisfied and relaxed which was the perfect combination for productivity. She got so caught up in her sketch pad that she didn’t even notice that it was nearly 8 o’ clock.

The sound of her phone ringing wasthe only thing that brought Marinette out of her trance.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mari, I know I’m a few minutes early but I’m here at your building. Are you ready.” Marinette’s head swiveled to the time on the microwave and she cursed as she floundered around for her shoes.

“Um, yeah I’ll be down in just a minute Adrien.”

…

If Adrien was honest, he would have told Marinette that he’d really been sitting in the parking lot of her apartment complex for almost thirty minutes. But that sounded a little stalkerish to admit on a first date.

Adrien was jittery and nervous and he hated it. It wasn’t often that he felt so anxious but then again, it wasn’t often that he took the girl of his dreams out on a date. A girl who supposedly had a secret that Adrien was dying to know.

When Adrien saw Marinette walk out the front door of her building, he pulled around and got out.

“Hey,” she said. Her smile was big and dazzling and Adrien was stunned for just a moment.

“You look perfect,” he said matter of factly. He pulled open the passenger door for her and waited for her to get in.

“Thanks. How gentlemanly of you,” Marinette said, still smiling. Adrien smiled back, suddenly feeling at ease.

“Only the best for you, bugaboo.” Marinette laughed, and the sound reminded Adrien a little of tinkling bells. He shut the door gently when she sat down and walked to the drivers side.

“You have a nice car,” Marinette said, looking around at the leather interior. Adrien began to drive.

“Thank you, its new. I actually just learned how to drive a few months ago,” he admitted. Marinette laughed again.

“Well keep your eye’s on the road handsome, you won’t win any brownie points if you wreck before we even get to dinner.” Adrien grinned.

“Hm, duly noted.” They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Marinette spoke up.

“So are you gonna tell me where we’re going?” Adrien was shaking his head before she even finished speaking. 

“Nope. You’ll see when we get there. Besides, it’s not too far.” Marinette groaned dramatically and Adrien chuckled.

“You’re gonna love it. I pinky promise.” He held out his pinky and Marinette looked at him with mock suspicion as she wrapped her own pinky around his. They didn’t say much else for the remainder of the drive. They bantered lightly with small talk about work and when they finally arrived, Marinette looked at Adrien with pure glee and surprise.

“Oh my god. A cat café?”


	15. Marinette May or May Not Be A Psycho Murderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Date Cuteness :))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I am alive, I am mostly fine and I finally had the inspiration to write another chapter so go me. Y'alls comments were super sweet and thank you so much for checking in on me. On a nice note though, I got to write this chapter at Dunn's and I totally made friends with another one of the baristas so he may be making an appearance in another chapter!( Also I am at Dunn's way to often because I learned today everyone knows me and my order and they apparently talk about me when I'm not there)

If anyone had asked Marinette what she thought she’d be doing the week before one of the scariest moments of her career, she would have said anxiously watching Netflix with Alya while drinking excessive amounts of coffee and fidgeting endlessly. She definitely would not have said going on a date with the hottest guy she’s ever seen at a freaking cat café.

“What did I say? Awesome right?”

Marinette grinned from ear to ear when she turned to Adrien.

“Oh my god. Yeah.” They sat in a cute little booth in the corner of the café that was currently occupied by two tuxedo kittens that were slumbering peacefully on top of the table. Both Marinette and Adrien looked at each other the way a child looks at their mother when surprised with a trip to Disney land.

“I wanna pet them but I don’t wanna wake them up,” Marinette said. She was sitting with her hands on her face looking almost like she was about cry happy tears.

“I know this is a dangerous thing to say… but they’re all up for adoption,” Adrien said. Marinette laughed.

“That is a dangerous thing to say. Now I have to take all of them home.” Adrien hadn’t stopped smiling since they walked in. Marinette thought it was almost as cute as the dozens of cats roaming around. Almost.

“So do they serve food here?” Adrien smiled slyly.

“We’re gonna break rules today Marinette.” Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“I may or may not have called ahead and paid off the manager to let us sneak our own food in since it’s against health code for them to serve food in a building with animals.” Marinette laughed.

“Oh wow I didn’t realize you were such a badass,” she teased. Adrien winked as he pulled out a grocery bag that Marinette had failed to notice him carrying. Adrien opened the bag and pulled out two large to go containers.

“I present to you, milady, your dinner.”

Adrien opened the containers to present an obnoxious amount of sushi. Marinette couldn’t stop smiling.

“This is perfect. Like… I’m kind of amazed at how perfect this is. Did you call Alya?” Adrien just wagged a finger.

“A gentleman never reveals his secrets.” Marinette smirked.

“Maybe but Alya is not a gentleman and she reveals every secret.” Adrien wrinkled his nose.

“Well then you will be surprised to know that I did the sleuthing all by myself.”

“So you Instagram stalked me?

“Oh I definitely Instagram stalked you.” 

…

Adrien was beyond proud of how well this date was going. Marinette laughed at all his jokes, loved the food and adored the cats. Everything was going according to plan. Of course, anyone who knows anything about anything knows that’s a terrible sign.

Adrien took the liberty of grabbing the two of them coffee and water to go with their meal. From the time he stood up from the table to the time he grabbed their coffees, Adrien’s thoughts were tainted with doubt and fear about the secret that Nino said Marinette was hiding. Maybe secret was a dramatic word for something that he didn’t know about Marinette considering he hadn’t known her for long but Adrien always had a flair for the dramatic.

When he got back to the table, he was almost overflowing with anticipation, trying to think of ways to casually figure out what he didn’t know. He figured subtlety was nearly always the best option.

“So Nino told me you have a secret.” Nailed it.

The way Marinette nearly flew out of her seat and began instantly sputtering was not reassuring.

“Secrets? I don’t have secrets,” she said nervously. She laughed awkwardly and Adrien raised an eyebrow.

“Really, because every part of your body just said otherwise.” Marinette sat for just a moment, rubbing at her temple with her forefinger and middle finger subconsciously, opening and closing her mouth like she was calculating what to say next.

“It’s not really so much a secret… I… I’m gonna kill Alya ohmigod I know she told Nino. I- um. Fuck. Well…”

…

Marinette.exe stopped working. It was obvious that Adrien was referring to her “appearance” in the upcoming show and frankly, Marinette had been putting off telling him about it. Not that he necessarily needed to know but maybe it’d be best to warn him? Marinette didn’t know. There wasn’t exactly a pamphlet on this kind of thing. She had kind of figured she would just never tell him and when he saw her on stage at Fruit of Passion, he’d freak out, never want to talk to her again and that would be the end of her problems.

But now Alya, or Nino, or Adrien or SOMEONE had ruined her plans. Unless…

“I’m not gonna tell you.” Marinette said matter of factly, although it was more to herself than to Adrien. Adrien looked a touch uneasy and he was looking at her confused.

“Um… okay…”

Marinette sighed.

“I’m not gonna tell you because you’re going to find out anyway and I don’t really know how to explain it to you without being weird.” Adrien’s look of uneasiness did not falter.

“Can you see why that’s maybe… concerning?” he asked carefully.

Marinette laughed.

“Yes, but I can promise you that it’s not something like me being a psycho murderer.”

“That sounds exactly like what a psycho murderer would say.” Marinette laughed and Adrien smiled a little back.

“Can I at least get a hint? I’m kind of going crazy thinking about this.” Marinette thought it over.

“It’s about Fruit of Passion. And it’s the reason why I can’t sit in the audience with you. But I don’t want to talk about it because it makes me really nervous.” Adrien nodded slowly, mulling over the new information.

“Okay. I can handle that I think,” he said. Marinette wondered if he really could handle that.

…

When the awkwardness settled a little and the two finished eating Adrien felt a lot better. He figured if her little secret had to do with work it surely couldn’t be that bad.

They had started back up with small talk while they put the leftovers back in the to go boxes (Adrien had really gone overboard), discussing Mari’s parents and their cute little bakery. It put Adrien in the mood for chocolate just thinking about it.

“They make this chocolate passionfruit macaron that’s to die for! Adrien I have literally never had anything more delicious in my entire life.” This girl was literally hitting Adrien’s sweet spot.

“Can we go?” he asked hopefully. Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“Right now?” Adrien laughed.

“Well maybe not right now but soon? I mean, if you decide you want to go on another date with me. But I’ll warn you even if you don’t go with me I’ll be making a trip myself.” Marinette smiled.

“I think that sounds nice. Going with you I mean. I’m assuming that you would also like to go on another date with me.” Adrien laughed.

“Mari, I was 95% sure before this date even started that I wanted to go on another date with you.” Marinette blushed.

“What was the other 5% for?” Adrien smiled wickedly.

“Oh you know just in case you were a psycho murderer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note, I totally know that some of the conversations between Adrien and MArinette are clunky and awkward and thats on purpose. Like that's how I wrote these characters. Because they are precious awkward beans and they are human and normal humans do not have smooth flowing convos all the time. I wanted to address this because I got a DM on tumblr trying to explain how to write smoother dialogue and while I totally accept constructive criticism I just felt like maybe people were missing that the choppy dialogue is purposeful and meant to be an expression of these characters as I see them and to also make them more real. Anyways, thanks for reading again guys!


	16. Who do I Think I Am With These Chapter Titles, Fallout Boy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A filler of anticipation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have no idea what I did to piss off God, but I am now in quarantine because I got exposed to COVID at work so fuck me I guess. Just what I needed to top off this past month *eyeroll*. The good news is I have no excuses for not writing so have a filler chapter.

If Marinette had to sum up the date in one word it would be exhilarating. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d let loose like that around someone who wasn’t Alya. After about two hours at the cat café, the two called it a night so Marinette could make it to work the next day without regrets. The car ride back was pleasant and filled with the same light banter they had enjoyed throughout the night.

“So, are you willing to be my date to the Fruit of Passion after party?” Adrien asked. Marinette had blushed a little.

“Only if you’re okay with it,” she’d said. She couldn’t help but wonder if after Fruit of Passion he wouldn’t want to take her to the after party.

“Then it’s a date.”

When they made it back to Marinette’s apartment, Marinette felt almost… disappointed. She wasn’t ready for the night to end.

Adrien parked in front of Marinette’s building and turned to face her with a soft smile.

“I had a really good time. I can’t wait to see you again,” he admitted. Marinette flushed.

“I did too. I was a little nervous but I’m glad we did this.” Adrien was silent for a moment like he was contemplating.

“Can I kiss you?” Marinette was briefly caught off guard before she began blushing even harder.

“Yeah,” she whispered. Adrien leaned in and Marinette met him halfway catching his lips with her own. His lips were soft and warm, just like Marinette had imagined and she put her hand up to tangle it in his hair. They kissed for what was probably only a few seconds but felt like an eternity before they pulled away just a fraction of an inch.

“Good night princess,” Adrien said softly. Marinette was certain she was seconds from exploding.

“Good night.” Marinette got out of the car feeling more exhilarated than she’d ever been in her life.

…

Adrien was on cloud nine as he drove home. He had put on the radio at full blast and was singing (perhaps screeching is a more accurate description) loud and proud.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Marinette. The way her widened blue eyes bored into his, the way her freckles dotted across her pink face, the softness of her skin and her lips. He felt giddy, a feeling that was new to Adrien. He felt a like a teenager. He felt happy.

…

Marinette’s next few days were dictated almost entirely by work. She was drowning in expectations and anxiety and the only thing Marinette had to comfort her was thoughts of Adrien. But even then, thinking too hard about it Marinette went back to be anxious to see him at Fruit of Passion. The mixture of anxiety and being overworked was beginning to overtake Marinette in the form of terrible habits. For instance, sleeping for a measly three hours a day, drinking copious amounts of coffee (as in 3-4 more cups a day) and eating pitiful looking salads for nearly every meal. Audrey had made no effort to tell Marinette how she needed to look but she did offhandedly mention that she needed to at least fit in her lingerie. This of course was taken to heart by Marinette and all of a sudden she felt like she had a million new things to worry about.

She continued to text Adrien but she found herself apologizing consistently about her spotty, short responses.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_I’m sorry I haven’t really been responsive. I’m drowning in work over here and my energy is sitting at about 15 percent_ **

And of course, because Adrien was freaking perfect he always responded.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_It’s okay! I know you’re working hard! Don’t over do it! Everything will be great!_ **

But nothing really felt great. As a matter of fact, everything felt awful and Marinette was starting to revisit the whole “move back home and work in the bakery as a failure” idea. Even Tikki was seeming to sense Marinette’s frustration as she started cuddling with Marinette for every second she was home. It was the only real comfort in her life. She found herself moody and grouchy and even Audrey was over it.

“Jesus Christ Marinette, I know your tired but untwist your panties, throw them at Adrien and get your shit together. We’re so close.” Marinette was now beginning to see why Audrey was such a bitch.

Three days before Fruit of Passion, Audrey ordered Marinette to go to spend the entire day at a spa.

“What? Why?” Marinette asked.

“One, because you need to unwind. Two, because you’re gonna want to look sexy tomorrow and I will commit a crime if you haven’t at least got your nails painted. Three, because if you don’t sleep, you’re makeup artist is gonna have to work a miracle to get rid of those dark circles. Also don't forget that for the next two days you're going to have to practice with the other girls at the venue.”  
Marinette didn’t have energy to argue. And she was certain that Audrey was right. She supposed she couldn’t complain either. It wasn’t often people had a boss that forced them to go to a spa.

“I have a meeting with Gabriel in about five minutes so finish up your work and you can go home.” It hit Marinette then and she was a little embarrassed to admit it had taken her so long to think about it.

“Audrey… Does Gabriel know I’m modeling for the show?” Audrey laughed.

“My dear, Gabriel Agreste is such a control Freak I sometimes wonder if he’s God himself. Yes, he knows.” Marinette blushed a little.

“And… he’s okay with it?” Audrey was silent for a moment before speaking again.

“Let’s just say I talked him into it and leave it at that. Now stop worrying and get your work done.”

…

When Marinette finally made it home she flopped onto her bed dramatically and checked her phone.

**11:30**

**3 new messages**

Marinette opened them.

**Alya**

**_Girl I think you need a break_ **

Marinette snorted. That was for damn sure.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_So, I think I should probably tell you that my father is going to be at Fruit of Passion_ **

**_I figured you could meet him at the after party… If that’s not too weird._ **

God… Just when Marinette thought her anxiety couldn’t get any worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! I've been thinking... My characters are two consenting adults... so I've been considering writing some mature content later down the road because no offense, how is Adrien not going to be turned on by Mari in lingerie? And how is Mari not gonna feel overwhelmingly sexy in lingerie in front of her crush when she finally realizes how cute she is? I'm not talking full on smut because frankly I'm not a confident enough writer for that BUT it will likely be very... Suggestive. With that being said, I want to know what you guys think? If you're game, lmk in the comments, if you're uncomfortable, also let me know and maybe depending on the responses I can make it to where I give hella warnings and make the content irrelevant to the plot and you can skip past the canoodling and continue reading without being uncomfortable. Also when I decide, I will edit the rating to be Mature so readers can be warned. Anywhoo Thanks for reading!


	17. Fruit of Passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MArinette makes Adrien Feel Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I come bearing gifts. I finally wrote the chapter you've been waiting for since like May so you're welcome. I would like to put a disclaimer here that I have no goddamn clue how fashion shows work and I have made some inferences so if anybody would like to fight me over it, I will be available to duel when I am out of quarantine on July 15th, thank you.

The day of reckoning was upon her. A day where literally everything in Marinette life could go wrong, right or a mix of both. She had her day of relaxation the day before if you could even call it that. Somehow being waxed and exfoliated on every part of her body was not relaxing, though Marinette had to admit she felt a little special walking out of the parlor, shiny and new.

On Friday, Marinette arrived early at eight in the morning to the venue. Audrey had instructed her that she was to put on the lingerie the moment she got there but to wear a robe to avoid any unfortunate accidents. Marinette supposed it was meant to be a way to get Marinette comfortable before the show but Marinette wasn’t entirely sure how that would be anymore helpful than practicing for literally days in her red piece. At three in the afternoon, a mere three hours before Fruit of Passion was set to start, the hair and makeup process began. Marinette spent most of that time texting Adrien.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Do you think you could distract me from the sense of impending doom I’ve been feeling?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Mari, tonight is gonna be great because you’re great. I’m gonna be there supporting you the whole time._ **

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Oh good. At least someone will support me when I fail miserably and destroy my whole career_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Don’t say that! Think about the after party! That’ll be fun! And I haven’t seen you since our date so I can’t wait to spend some time with you!_ **

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_If I become the laughing stock of the show, will you still go to the party with me?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Yes_ **

Marinette grinned stupidly at her phone as the stylist pulled on her hair.

“Oh honey, you have it bad,” he said, not looking away from his work. Marinette laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah… I know.”

…

Adrien was beyond excited to wake up on Friday. He was excited to go to his stylist, he was excited to get to his fathers to get dressed up in a custom suit and he was excited for the chauffeured ride he’d have on the way to the venue. These were things he’d never in his life been excited for but now that he’d be going to support Marinette, these things were no longer a chore. He hoped in the back of his mind that these would be things he’d get to be excited about for a very long time.

When he arrived at his fathers house after having his hair trimmed and styled, Adrien came face to face with Nathalie.

“Would you like something to eat? We’ll be leaving here at 4. Until then you’re welcome to do what you please.” Adrien grinned.

“I’d love something to eat,” he admitted. Nathalie nodded and turned to walk away before Adrien caught her shoulder.

“Wait, Nathalie, I just wanted to let you know I’d be bringing a date with me tonight to the afterparty.” Nathalie raised an eyebrow.

“Who?” Adrien blushed.

“Does it matter?” Nathalie gave him a look.

“Look can’t you tell my father it’s a surprise?” The last thing Adrien wanted was for Gabriel to judge Marinette tonight in a whole new light tonight based on her associations with his son. At least not until the show was over. Tonight, was her night as far as Adrien was concerned.

“You and I both know how your father feels about surprises.” Nathalie contemplated for a moment.

“It might be best for both of us that we pretend this conversation never happened, and you, as they say, ask for forgiveness rather than permission.” It was comical to hear that sentence come out of Nathalie’s mouth without so much as an octave change in Nathalie’s voice.

“Right…” Adrien muttered.

…

With T-minus one hour until the show would begin and the venue already beginning to fill with occupants, Marinette was on the verge of panicking.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_Hey I’m here. I don’t suppose you could sneak away to say hi before the show._ **

Marinette snorted.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_Not a chance_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_It was worth a shot._ **

Marinette sat in the dressing room in wait. She glanced nervously around the room until she spotted a coffee station. She stared longingly at it. The last thing she needed was to be _more_ jittery. God she just wanted this to be over with

…

T-minus thirty minutes and Audrey is giving Marinette a pep talk.

“Everyone worth a damn is out there Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Every person that will ever matter is sitting out there waiting to see what you’re made of. And I don’t mean your mom. I don’t mean your dad. I don’t mean your little friends because they are actual piles of grabage compared to the people sitting in that crowd.”

“This has got to be the worst pep talking I’ve ever heard,” Marinette thought to herself.

“And every single one of them is about to be blown the fuck away because you are sexy, you are talented and most of all you’re going to go out there and pretend like you don’t give a flying shit about their opinion because YOU KNOW that you’re a star. You know that you deserve to succeed, and you know that no one can stop you. Do you understand?” All Marinette could do was nod.

…

T-minus one minute and someone is shouting at Marinette. But Marinette has left the building and in her place is a woman with a game face on that exudes conviction. And suddenly, Marinette is the woman who knows that she deserves to be worshipped.

….

T-minus five seconds until Marinette walks on to that platform and her mind is clear of everything but one thought.

I can do this.

…

Adrien is unbelievably bored while he’s waiting for the show to start. He’s next to his father who’s stoic and quiet as ever and Marinette has stopped texting him back. When the show does start, Adrien picks up on the structure relatively quickly.

Ultimately, Gabriel picked four designers that he collaborated with (although collaborated is a stretch and commission is likely more accurate) and each had their own line that was being showcased. Each line was shown in a set that lasted roughly thirty minutes and Marinette’s line was last.

Adrien is not often impressed by clothes. He’s grown up his whole life watching his father create designs that had been deemed modern art. So, Adrien was a little numb and frankly bored with the fashion world and it’s members. This carries into the first three sets of the show.

The first woman who steps out wearing one of Marinette’s intricately designed pieces catches Adrien’s attention. He can’t help but be mesmerized by the tedious stitching in each piece that makes its way across the runway. And suddenly Adrien feels stupid. He feels stupid because he spent so much time telling Marinette that her work was brilliant because that’s what his father thought, and he’d had no earthly idea what the fuck he was talking about. Studying her work, Adrien realized that Marinette was more than brilliant. She was phenomenal.

When she stepped out, Adrien didn’t realize it at first. He was too busy staring at the patterns of lace and the deep, rich color of the red. But when Adrien glanced at her face…

Adrien couldn’t really admire the lingerie itself the way he had with the other pieces when she stopped in front of him and his father. Because all Adrien could look at, was her.

She didn’t even look at Adrien. She didn’t spare a single person a glance. She walked with poise and elegance that didn’t scream look at me, but rather, I know you’re looking at me. She did not smile, but there was no question that she was exactly where she belonged, and she knew it.

Adrien felt himself blushing and couldn’t help but think, that of everything that paraded down that runway, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the masterpiece.

…

Seeing Marinette made Adrien feel things. But he didn’t realize how many things until he adjusted in his seat. He felt like a teenager again. He tried to inconspicuously cross his legs and think of the most disgusting things he could conjure before the show was over and he had to stand up but he was terrified that even if managed that, his red hot face would give everything away. Marinette was making him feel things and it would take every ounce of strength to keep his “feelings” at bay.

**…**

Marinette wished she could say that this whole thing taught her a lesson about confidence and that from then on, she was the most powerful woman alive, but in reality, the moment she stepped back behind the proverbial curtain, she nearly collapsed.

“That was excellent Marinette,” Audrey said smiling.

“I hate you,” Marinette muttered back.

…

When everything was over, Marinette was almost too scared to look at her phone. She knew Adrien had been in the crowd but she’d spent so much time focusing on not looking at everyone’s faces, she hadn’t been able to search for him. She wondered what his face had looked like when she walked out. She picked up her phone slowly to look at her messages.

**Coffee Buddy**

**_I feel like there’s a lot to unpack here but I’d like to start by making sure that was the THING you were nervous to talk about on our date because I think if there’s another surprise tonight my heart will explode_ **

Marinette wasn’t sure how to respond. She elected playing dumb was her best bet

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_I’m not sure I know what you’re referring to_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_So are you gonna pretend like you weren’t the most beautiful creature to grace a stage like, not even twenty minutes ago or?_ **

Marinette felt like the weight sitting on her chest turned into a balloon and it was floating away. She was positively beaming.

**Marinette Dupain-Cheng**

**_So I didn’t embarrass you?_ **

**Coffee Buddy**

**_If I may be so bold princess, I was definitely embarrassed tonight but it wasn’t by you_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will obvs be the after party, I am honestly more excited to write this chapter than I was to write this one and I will tell you why when its posted. Thank you guys so much for your comments! I have never written a fic that wasn't an angsty One Direction WIP in 2013 (god I hope no one ever finds that) so it's super encouraging to know that I'm not the only one who thinks I'm funny and that you guys are actually enjoying my content! Also please not I have changed my rating on this fic per what I talked about in the last chapter about writing some suggestive material so thanks for the support on that as well!


	18. Kiss My Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien escorts Marinette to the afterparty and says things that have been on his mind for a very long time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no earthly idea how happy it made me to write this chapter. There is not really and mature material here but it's coming I promise.  
> EDIT: If you reread this chapter I have made an edit to make it more realistic regarding the design of Marinette's dress.

Marinette couldn’t stop smiling. She was promptly informed by Audrey following the show that everyone was raving about her line and that she was already receiving commission requests to work with other high-end designers. Marinette had spent so much time focusing on her anxiety of parading around half naked, that she’d completely abandoned the idea that her line could be a success.

She couldn’t help but wonder if this was her peak. She supposed she could settle for that.

Marinette had changed into a dress for the afterparty, which she of course designed herself, and was waiting in her dressing room for Adrien to come and escort her to the lounge that the party was being held in. Her heart was fluttering thinking about her future. Her future in her career and the future that possibly awaited her with Adrien.

She found herself daydreaming about him, whispering nonsense in her ear about how beautiful she looked and how happy he was for her and how she was all his…

Marinette was suddenly struck with a thought. She hadn’t really dated in her adult life and she wasn’t entirely sure how all that worked…

Is Adrien her boyfriend? She found herself bemused. She hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into that, considering she didn’t really think she’d get this far. She supposed she could ask Adrien, but he’d admitted that he hadn’t really dated much since high school either.

She laughed a little. They would have to figure all that out together.

…

Adrien was a dazed as he walked to Marinette’s dressing room. He hoped a bit shamefully she would still be in that red thing when he got there, but quickly realized that would probably cause more problems than anything else. He wasn’t sure he had the control to keep his thoughts to himself in that situation.

He’d managed to slip away from his father under the guise that he’d be socializing with others which wasn’t entirely a lie but it bought him some time to think about how he’d introduce Marinette. He’d begun to wonder what exactly you call someone you’re hopelessly infatuated with even though you’ve only been on one date.

When he arrived at the door of Mari’s dressing room, he did what he could to compose himself. He ran his fingers through his hair, took a deep breath and knocked.

When Marinette opened the door, Adrien found himself out of breath.

“You look beautiful,” he blurted, and the smile that was already on Marinette’s face got wider.

“Thank you, I made this dress myself. It has pockets,” she admitted. Adrien took a moment to really look at it and was blown away once again at her talent.

“You know,” he started. He swallowed.

“I thought I knew you were talented, and then I realized that I’m a fucking idiot and that you’re amazing and I had no idea what I was talking about.” Marinette flushed a little and gave him a shy smile.

“Thank you. You look very handsome too ya know.” Adrien gave her a stupid grin.

“I try princess. Are you ready?” He held out his hand for her. She nodded and took it, holding his arm as he escorted her to a wild, wild night.

…

Marinette still couldn’t stop smiling as she held on to Adrien’s arm. She couldn’t get over how hot he was. She stared at his face out of the corner of her eye until she noticed-

“Are you wearing makeup?” she asked. Adrien immediately looked flustered.

“Um, yeah my stylist insisted and since my father’s in the fashion industry…” he was tripping over his words.

“Adrien.” Adrien looked at her, his face worried.

“It looks nice,” she encouraged. And Adrien smiled a shy smile back at her.

“Thank you.”

They walked in a comfortable silence before Adrien stopped for a moment, yards away from the lounge. The hallway was empty.

“I have something to ask you before we walk in there,” he said warily. Marinette nodded.

“Okay.”

“So, we’re about to talk to a lot of people and I don’t really think I can bring myself to leave your side because one, I’m a little scared someone is going to steal you away and two I don’t usually like things like this because they get lonely really fast. So I imagine people are going to ask us the… nature of our relationship and if I’m being honest I don’t really know what to say.” Marinette laughed.

“You know it’s funny you say that because I was wondering the same thing.” Adrien smiled, looking relieved and chuckled softly.

“Okay, well Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I know we’ve only been on one date but do you think you could be my girlfriend?”

Marinette was feeling incredibly brave and very lucky. Given all the things that could’ve gone wrong and all the things that were going unbelievably right, she took a risk that to this day she still doesn’t regret.

…

Adrien was startled by the kiss. But he was not at all opposed. He instinctively placed one hand on her cheek and another on her waist to pull her in closer. Thee kiss was intense and soft and warm and everything that Adrien wanted. Well maybe not everything…

Of course, all good things must come to an end so when the door to the lounge opened, the two were immediately interrupted by the flash of a camera and the call of Adrien’s name.

When the two turned around, Adrien was horrified to see Gabriel Agreste staring, appalled and disgruntled, back at the happy couple. When Adrien looked at Marinette’s face, she was red as a beet and looking embarrassed out at the crowd of people looking out the doors. Adrien swallowed hard and chuckled awkwardly. 

“Hello father, this is my girlfriend, Marinette.”

…

To say that Marinette was mortified was an understatement. She was embarrassed and clinging very tightly to her boyfriend of two seconds, staring at a man who could make or break her career with the snap of his fingers.

“Your father?” she whispered to Adrien as calmly as she could. Adrien nodded stiffly.

“Yeah.” He whispered back.

“You stupid blockhead you didn’t tell me that your father was Gabriel Agreste,” she whispered angrily.

“Well you didn’t tell me that I was going see you with no clothes on for the first time while sitting next to my dad. Besides, I told you he was in fashion industry.” Marinette had no rebuttal for that and she used all of her willpower to not give Adrien a dirty look. Not here anyway. She could feel her face getting hotter and her hand grasping Adrien’s arm tighter.

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng.” Gabriel acknowledged her with a curt nod.

“May I steal my son away from you for a moment?” Marinette nodded quickly.

“Of course. It’s a pleasure to meet you sir,” she said quietly. Adrien shot her an apologetic look before leaving her in the middle of a party, embarrassed and alone.

…

“I thought I had told you to watch your image,” Gabriel said sharply. Adrien hung his head, thoughts swirling around aimlessly as he tried to think of what to say.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think-“

“That’s precisely the problem Adrien. You don’t think. You didn’t think about the fact that she is using you to get connections to me. You didn’t think about the fact that now there will be tabloids going around tomorrow of you kissing that girl. You didn’t think about the fact that they’ll say that she got commissioned for this show because of her connections to you. And you didn’t think about the fact that this will not only look bad on me but this could possibly jeopardize her career.”

Adrien had a lot of emotions that had been building in his chest since his mother had died ten years before and very little time to process them. It is assumed that’s the reason that for the first time in his life, he raised his voice at his father. Though no one ever really did any digging to find out.

“All due respect _sir,_ but Marinette’s work speaks for itself, she doesn’t need connections to YOU to be successful. And for your information she didn’t even know you were my father because I didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want her to feel burdened by the fact that she had to meet your expectations not only as her boss but as my father on a night that should have been about celebrating her work. And if Marinette doesn’t want to date me because of you then that’s her choice to make not mine. So how about, instead of spending all of your time worried about the world thinks, you worry about what I think for once. Because I bet you haven’t once thought about what makes me happy, have you? No? Well I’ll tell you what makes me happy since you’ve made no effort to ask. It makes me happy to eat chocolates, to play video games, to hang out with friends who like me for me and not what you can give them. My job makes me happy and most importantly, being with Marinette makes me happy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my girlfriend put out a phenomenal line of clothing tonight and I would like to be there with her to celebrate it so that I can make her happy, thank you.”

By the time Adrien had finished talking he was nearly out of breath and he was shaking with fury. He had a fire in his eyes that Gabriel himself had never seen and it left Gabriel speechless. Adrien turned around to walk away but before he walked out of the abandoned side room they were in, he turned his head to look at Gabriel one more time.

“If you want me to continue our deal and support your brand then that’s fine, but let me be clear. I will continue to date Marinette on my terms, and hers, until one of US decides otherwise. If you have a problem with that, then from the bottom of my heart, please, kiss my ass.” And with that Adrien walked back to the party, abandoning Gabriel with his thoughts in an empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO?! SO?! IS ANYONE ELSE HAPPY WITH ME?! This is the best chapter I think I've written since the video game chapter and I really hope you guys liked it as much as I did omg.


	19. Honesty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see our faves open up to each other in such a precious way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys this story is so fun to write ugh. I really hope you guys like this chapter bc it's pretty long but I just kept writing and writing and I kind of wrote and rewrote this chapter and few times and I wasn't even frustrated because I just kept thinking about ways to make it better.

It didn’t take long for Marinette to be swept up by important people she didn’t know how to talk to. They all offered compliments and work opportunities and Marinette was positive that she needed someone to follow her around and tell her what to say because she was running out of generic professional statements.

Like magic, Audrey appeared, shoeing away what she liked to call “undesirables” and hyping up Marinette’s work to those she deemed worthy. Marinette could sense that when all this was over Audrey would take up the mantle of coaching Marinette in the ways of successful businesswomen.

After what felt like hours, she felt a hand take hers.

“I hope you don’t mind me stealing Ms. Dupain-Cheng away.” Marinette turned to see Adrien giving her peers a dazzling smile. He squeezed her hand gently and ushered her away to a snack table.

“I take it the conversation you had with your father went well,” she said. Adrien snorted.

“Oh yeah, just peachy. But enough about me. Tonight my dear-“ Adrien twirled Marinette around, “is about you.” Marinette couldn’t help but feel breathless.

“Oh,” is all she could say.

“Now, I don’t know about you Mari, but I am starving, and these snacks look delicious.” Marinette grinned.

“You have no idea. The model life is tough.” Adrien shot her a knowing smile.

“Oh I know. Now, help me pick out some snacks to steal before I decide to just eat you instead.” Marinette blushed madly and looked at Adrien with mock disapproval.

“This couple business has made you cheeky and I don’t know if I like it.” Adrien laughed as he put a handful of chocolate truffles in his pocket.

“Well I’m afraid it’s either this or puns. You choose.” Marinette giggled.

“I’ve decided cheeky is nice.” Adrien winked and looked at Marinette’s dress intently.

“Didn’t you say that dress had pockets?” Marinette nodded joyously as she instinctively shoved her hands into the aforementioned pockets.

“Then I’m going to hand you some treats, and I want you to fill up your pockets as much as you can.” Marinette nodded and began taking what looked like cookies and cheese from Adrien and shoving them into her pockets.

“Can I ask why we’re stealing these?” Marinette said as Adrien put the last cookie in his mouth.

“Becauf-“ he said, his voice muffled. He grabbed Marinette’s hand again and started to lead her away from the table. He used his other hand to grab the rest of the cookie he’d been eating and handed it to Marinette.

“We’re gonna blow this popsicle stand and go somewhere fun.”

…

Adrien turned around periodically to check on Marinette to make sure she was able to follow him with ease as they quickly rushed around the halls of the venue. It took physical effort when he turned around to see her, cheeks flushed, breathless, hair falling into her face and eyes wide with curiosity, not to stop and kiss her senseless.

But Adrien was on a mission. They turned around corners, seemingly at random until they approached a door. Adrien paused (for dramatic effect) before opening it to reveal a balcony. Marinette was speechless, though possibly because she felt like she’d ran a marathon, as she looked around to see the lights of Paris dazzling in front of her. The iron wrought balcony was just big enough for the two of them to sit together and enjoy their stolen snacks. Adrien was beaming, pulling a flask from a hidden pocket in his suit and handing it to her.

“A beverage milady?” Marinette couldn’t help but laugh. She took it and sipped cautiously and rightfully so. She made a face and looked at Adrien with her eyebrows raised.

“This is just straight whiskey.” Adrien laughed as he took the flask back.

“Exactly. That’s the only way to make it through these things.” He tucked the flask back in his jacket pocket and extended a hand to Marinette to help her sit down. She accepted it and sat down not so elegantly and began to unpack the snacks she’d stuffed in her pockets and put them on a napkin Adrien had snagged from the party which had been laid out between them.

“Aren’t you the one who said that you would make the party fun?” Marinette asked amused.

“I said I would show you a good time. So, to do that we first needed food and then we needed to leave because those things are never fun.” Marinette laughed.

“You were the one who convinced me to go in the first place!” Adrien contemplated with mock seriousness.

“Hm, I’m afraid that was just a ploy to get myself out of this party.” Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Wow, so we’ve been together for all of twenty minutes and you’re already using me. Not off to a great start Agreste.” Adrien blushed.

“So that’s what your calling me now.” Marinette laughed sarcastically.

“Oh did you think I was just gonna let that go? The fact that your father is my boss and you didn’t think that was important to mention.” Adrien scratched the back of his head nervously.

“Heh, I was hoping.”

“Well at the very least I think you owe me an explanation.” Marinette was serious but Adrien could tell she wasn’t angry. Adrien sighed and looked out at the dim stars above the city lights. Marinette picked up a cookie and handed it to Adrien, and he smiled as he took it.

“I’ve lived my whole life with people judging me based off of the success of my father or the way that my father treated them. But when I met you and you had no idea who I was and you just treated me like a normal person and you actually like me, for me. And then when I started realizing how much I liked you and wanted you in my life I realized I’d have to tell you eventually, but I couldn’t think of the right time to bring it up. And with the show you were really stressed out and you were working all the time and I thought telling you then would just make it worse and-” Marinette nodded as Adrien struggled to find the right words.

“And then all of a sudden we were here,” she said quietly. Adrien nodded. Marinette smiled.

“I understand. I mean, I was really nervous about being in this show because of the… nature of the designs and then I realized you were going to be there and I didn’t know how to tell you I’d be parading half naked in clothes I designed in front of you and billion other people that are important and I had no idea how you’d react so I thought maybe if I just ignored the problem, it would be better.” Adrien smiled and grabbed Marinette’s hand placing it in his.

“What a pair we are,” he said. Marinette squeezed his hand and grabbed a small piece of cheese and started to nibble.

“Well, I have an idea,” Marinette offered. Adrien looked at her and nodded, encouraging her to go on.

“What if, we just spend tonight talking about everything, ya know? Learning about everything and then we won’t have any secrets coming to bite us in the ass. I mean, I don’t really have a whole lot in my life to hide so maybe that’s a lot to ask but I think the best way to start a relationship is with honesty. “

Adrien hesitated as he looked at Marinette and he was stuck by the sincerity in her voice and the earnest look on her face. So tentatively, Adrien nodded.

The two spent hours upon hours talking about everything and nothing. Things that mattered and things that didn’t. They snacked and talked like they had nothing else they’d rather do. As time went on, Adrien lost his jacket, his tie and a few buttons on his shirt while Marinette removed heavy jewelry and shoes.

And as the food between them began to disappear so did the distance and an hour later, Marinette had her head in Adrien’s lap, tracing the lines in his palm involuntarily.

“So, do you still talk to Luka?” Adrien asked, using his free hand to stroke Marinette’s bangs out of her face.” Marinette shrugged.

“More or less, the problem was always that he wasn’t really a guy of many words and he was really hard to talk to. But every once in a while, he’ll give me a call and ask me how I’m doing and tell me how his tour is going.” Adrien nodded.

“Yeah I don’t really talk to Kagami either. I really hurt her I think when I broke up with her and I was just a stupid high school boy so I didn’t have clue how to talk to women.” Marinette laughed.

“I know a lot about being stupid in high school. I uh- gosh this is embarrassing please don’t look at me while I say this.” Adrien laughed and looked at the stars.

“Better?” Marinette laughed and took her hands from his to cover her face.

“Okay, so I slept with Luka.” Adrien looked at her puzzled.

“Why is that embarrassing? Weren’t you together for a long time?” Marinette sighed.

“No, you don’t understand. I slept with him… after we broke up.” Adrien laughed.

“I’m sorry I don’t mean to laugh. Why, if you don’t mind me asking?” Marinette balled her hands up in front of her face.

“Because, oh my god its so fucking stupid I’m sorry- I just didn’t want to be inexperienced when I started dating again and I knew it wouldn’t be embarrassing to do it with him because-“

“Because you were so comfortable with each other. I get it. It makes sense. But… that’s gonna make what I have to say kind of awkward.” Marinette lowered her hands and looked at Adrien suspicously.

“What?” Adrien and started running his hand through his hair and chuckled nervously. “I’m uh- I’m still a virgin.”

Marinette sat up.“I’m sorry, what?”

Adrien started to feel the blood rushing to his face.

“I mean, I never had sex with anyone,” he mumbled.

“No, I understand what being a virgin is, but like… you’re so… hot. I mean, I’m sorry, I just can’t imagine you not having girls like, lining up at your door.” Adrien laughed.

“Well it’s not that the problem is finding someone who’s willing as much as someone I’d actually want to have sex with, ya know?” Marinette laid back into Adrien’s lap and shifted uncomfortably.

“I understand that I guess. I don’t know I’ve just never met a boy who doesn’t… take advantage of… the opportunities when they arise,” Marinette said awkwardly. Adrien stared at her for a moment before smiling.

“Mari, are you uncomfortable talking about sex?” Marinette put her hands back in front of her face.

“Maybe,” she muttered. Adrien laughed.

“But you’re the one who brought it up!” he pointed out. Mari groaned.

“I know, we said we were gonna be honest!” she exclaimed. Adrien laughed and pulled her into his chest and her button nose was buried into the skin of his chest just above the fastened buttons of his white shirt.

“Well I’m gonna be honest with you now okay?” Marinette nodded and Adrien relished in the feel of his skin on hers.

“I’d want to do it with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm thinking about starting another fic and the comments I've gotten have really encouraged me to keep writing so, if anyone is interested in reading another miraculous au from me please let me know! I'm wanting to do a punk!Adrien au because playing with characters in alternate universes is so fun to me. This idea was totally from a drawing I did and then it has since been on my mind becasue of tumblr post going around about Adrien cussing a lot (I'm sure miraculous tumblr users know exactly what I'm talking about) and I'm kind of a whore for a good punk au becasue I myself am kind of the embodiment of fem punk with my lip ring and my eyeliner and my converse and ripped jeans and the way I kind of hate everything.  
> Anyways, back to this story, I know I may have just stopped some of your hearts and I'm sorry but you know how I love to leave off on dramatic dialogue.


	20. Little Nothings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> small conversations that mean everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... my name is Shelby and I am SO GODDAMN SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG AND THAT ITS SO SHORT! I've had this saved for like a week and a half and for those who've been reading my little updates you know I was in quarantine for a bit but as soon as I got out I went and worked 3 60 hour weeks at work and literally did nothing when I got home but sleep and play animal crossing. Every bartender at my restaurant except me is refusing to work so I just had to train like 5 new people to get some time off and it was crazy stressful!  
> I know this isn't much but I honestly just wanted to post something to confirm I'm not dead and I will finish this story if it's the last thing I do because I refuse to abandon another WIP! So... please enjoy sweet nothings between cute awkward people while I actually write some content that I'm hoping to get posted by Friday!

_“I’d want to do it with you.”_

Marinette was thankful to be buried in Adrien’s enviably smooth chest. It was warm, tan and smelled a little like a bougie cologne she couldn’t quite put her finger on. But mostly she was thankful because her face was burning with heat that rivaled the fiery pits of hell.

Now on the one hand, Marinette was very deeply attracted to Adrien in a very physical sense. However, Marinette was also raised to be unbelievably modest and would much rather just let sexual encounters happen following a buildup of unbelievable sexual tension rather than talk about it. She of course recognized why that wasn’t a great idea, but it didn’t make conversations about sex any less awkward.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Adrien said to her quietly. “I know that this is probably not an easy conversation, but I felt like you should know.”

Marinette groaned in frustration; her voice muffled. She slowly raised her head and looked away, avoiding Adrien’s eyes.

“I don’t understand how you can be so casual about this. You’re the one who’s never even had sex.” Adrien laughed and Marinette smiled slightly.

“Well, when I was young my mother was very… thorough in my education. She wanted our communication to be open and she didn’t want me to be afraid to ask questions so there wasn’t really much in my house that was off limits until I was older.”

“Because of your dad?” Marinette asked. Adrien nodded and went back to stroking Marinette’s hair.

“Yeah, he isn’t much of a talker.”

Marinette nodded. “Well everyone in my house is very modest and we don’t’ really talk about things like that. I’m pretty sure my parents stuck to the stork story until I was going to university.”

Adrien chuckled. “I can see that.”

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes and Marinette laid her had back on Adrien’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“It’s getting late, do you have to work tomorrow?” Adrien finally asked. Marinette shook her head.

“No, I have my weekends back to myself for a bit. But I imagine I’m about to start receiving a lot of calls from a lot of secretaries.”

Adrien snorted.

“Does that mean you won’t have time to talk to me?”

“No, it means we have to be on the phone 24/7 so that I have an excuse not to answer.”

…

Adrien was content in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. Having Marinette in his lap, eating snacks and stealing occasional sips from his flask was probably how he’d choose to spend every day if he could. He was comfortable but he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to the conversation he’d had with his father. He was having second thoughts on some of the words he’d let fall from his mouth and he had no idea what he’d say the next time he saw his father.

“Are you okay?” Marinette was staring at him and he realized he’d been staring off into space. Adrien just nodded and sighed.

“Yeah just thinking. I said some not polite things today to my dad and I don’t really know what’s going to happen now.”

“Well did he deserve it?”

Adrien blinked and looked at Marinette blankly.

“What?”

“Did he deserve it?” Marinette repeated. Adrien chuckled awkwardly.

“Um, I mean I think so. He was kind of being a jerk.”

“Do you regret what you said?” Marinette asked. The look in her face was so genuinely sincere that Adrien was a little taken aback.

“I mean, no but I-“

“Well then try not to worry too much. Things may not turn out the way you like but at least you know that you meant the things you said.”

Adrien smiled and kissed her forehead.

“Thank you.”

…

At about 2 AM, the Adrien and Marinette both began to feel the exhaustion of the day.

“I think I’m ready to go to bed and sleep forever,” Marinette said, snuggling into Adrien’s chest. Adrien nodded in agreement.

“Me too. Do you want to go home?” he asked. Marinette nodded. She sat up and started to gather her things that had been strewn about the balcony. Adrien started to help her until he stopped and started blushing furiously.

“What’s wrong?” Marinette asked

“I- um. I just realize that I don’t have a way home. Do you mind- ?“

Marinette laughed.

“Of course I can take you home. You are gonna have to show me to the parking lot though because I have no idea how we got here.”

Adrien laughed too.

“Don’t worry milady, I’ll lead the way.”

…

Adrien navigated the halls hand in hand with Marinette until they reached the exit.

“After you,” he said, opening the door and gesturing with his free hand towards the empty parking lot. Mari smiled and led Adrien to her car. When they both got in an settled Marinette sat still for a moment contemplating before she turned her head to face Adrien.

“Do you have to do anything tomorrow?” she asked, chewing nervously in her lip. Adrien shook his head.

“No not that I can think of.” Marinette sat quietly for another moment before building up all the courage she had.

“Would you… would you want to stay with me tonight?”

Adrien smiled. “I would love that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to the end of innocence my friends


	21. Don't Fuck It Up... or do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They really just need to get their clothes off and love each other already

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... I'm not dead. That is item one. Item two is that I rewrote this chapter 8 FUCKING TIMES. I'm honestly still not a big fan but I think I'm probably not going to go into much more detail than is already described. I did research and more research and read hella smut fics and somehow it still felt like everything I wrote was tacky and lame and cliche so this is where I landed. I really hope you guys enjoy this, honestly don't be surprised if I just decide to rewrite this all over again.

To say that Marinette was nervous would’ve been an understatement. Everyone who knew Marinette knew she was an overthinker. But this was little much even for her.

_What if I snore in my sleep and I don’t know? What if Tikki hates him and tries to attack him? What if he thinks my room is stupid? Did I put my makeup away on the counters this morning before I left? Oh my god did I leave my coffee pot out again? Maybe he’ll think I’m a slob. Am I moving too fast? Maybe he only said he wants to come over to be nice._

That was only a tenth of the worries racing through Mari’s thoughts.

For Adrien the silence was deafening. He could almost see anxiety seeping out of her every pore.

“Are you okay?’ he asked timidly. Marinette sighed.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking,” she said quietly.

“Do you want to try thinking out loud?”

Marinette glanced at Adrien.

“Its stupid.” She said quickly, shaking her head as though that might shake out her insanity. Adrien put a hand on her knee a rubbed tight, gentle circles to soothe her.

“I don’t think its stupid. Come on. Talk to me.” Marinette bit her lip.

“I really want you to come over. Because I’m not ready for you to leave. But I’m nervous.”

Adrien nodded slowly. “About what?”

Marinette shrugged.

“Everything. What if my apartments a mess? Because I can’t remember if I tidied everything before I left. Or what if Tikki decides to attack your face? I don’t know its dumb.” Adrien smiled gently.

“Well, if your apartment is messy, I can help you tidy it if it’ll make you feel better. Or I can pretend like there’s nothing there. But you’ve been busy, I can’t exactly judge you because you didn’t spend the five seconds of free time you’ve had in the past three weeks to clean.”

Mari smiled. “Well what about Tikki attacking your face?”

“Yeah that’s a deal breaker. It just means we aren’t compatible.”

Marinette laughed and took a hand off the steering wheel to clasp Adrien’s hand on her knee.

“Thank you. You’re kind of amazing. You know that?” Marinette said. Adrien used his free hand to put behind his head and lounged comfortably in the passenger seat.

“Oh its been said once or twice.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Oh I’m sure,” she said sarcastically.

…

When they made it back to Marinette’s apartment, they walked up the steps together, fingers laced.

“Is it bad that what I’m most excited about is meeting your cat?” Adrien asked when they got to the door. Marinette laughed as she put her keys in the lock.

“There’s worse things.” She opened the door and walked in. Adrien looked around, scrutinizing before he stepped into the threshold and wrinkled his nose.

“Where’s the mess? I was expecting to see clothes and coffee cups everywhere but this place is immaculate.”

“I said I didn’t remember if it was a mess. But it looks like I put everything away.” Adrien laughed.

“All that worrying for nothing.” Marinette raised an eyebrow and put on her best scowl as she made her way into the kitchen.

“You know I _was_ going to offer you a nightcap but not if you’re gonna make fun of me.” Adrien smiled his most dazzling smile and sauntered into the kitchen after her, gently placing his hands on her waist.

“I don’t need a nightcap when I’ve got you princess.”

Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck, still scowling.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” she muttered. Adrien dipped his head and went in for a kiss. Marinette placed a hand on his cheek and pressed her lips against his, moving in tandem. They stood there for ages, kissing sweetly, Marinette starting to tangle a hand in Adrien’s hair.

“Meow.”

Adrien and Marinette pulled away to stare at a very distraught tabby cat.

Adrien immediately crouched down to pet Tikki, cooing at her.

“Mood killer,” Marinette grumbled.

Tikki did not attack Adrien’s face. In fact, Adrien insisted on being the one to pour food in the empty bowl of the poor starving feline to “show her good faith”. Marinette was falling harder by the second and she wasn’t sure she could stand it any longer.

“Adrien I’m gonna get changed into something more comfortable, I’ll be right back.” Adrien looked up at her from the floor where he was still petting Tikki as she ate.

“Oh, I just realized, I don’t really have a change of clothes,” he admitted awkwardly. Marinette shrugged.

“Then just don’t wear any.” The moment it came out her mouth, Marinette’s ears went scarlet. Adrien blushed and smiled.

“Awfully bold princess,” he said standing up. Marinette stood her ground, willing her nerves away while repeating to herself, _be confident, you already knows he likes you, be confident_.

“Well for the first time in the history of ever there’s a beautiful man in my house and he’s giving my cat more attention than me.” Adrien chuckled. He closed the distance between them and stopped just short of her lips as he brushed the hair from her face.

“Do you want me to _help you_ get into something more comfortable?” Marinette gazed into his eyes before stepping away and walking towards her bedroom.

“No, I think I’ll let you stew a bit,” she called over her shoulder.

…

Adrien stared at Marinette’s bedroom door as it shut behind her and contemplated.

_Are we about to have sex? Should I just casually sit on the couch and wait for her? That seems lame. What if I’m reading too far into this? Ugh relationships are so complicated how do I do this without seeming awkward? Oh god she knows I’m a virgin, what if it sucks? Everyone’s first time sucks but I don’t want her to think it sucks._

Adrien rubbed his chin anxiously as thought of the best way to play it cool. He thought so long and so hard that when Marinette finally opened the door to the bedroom he jumped.

It took everything in Adrien not to just stare with his mouth wide open. Suddenly every thought of anxiety disappeared because there she was standing in front of him. Marinette was in a lacy silk red top with matching shorts that stopped just before her mid thigh.

“Did you make that,” Adrien blurted out. Marinette nodded. Her hair was still up in space buns and Adrien couldn’t help but think about how in this one moment, he might be the luckiest guy in the world.

“It’s beautiful,” Adrien said, sincerely. Marinette smiled and opened the door wider.

“Thank you, do you wanna come in?” Adrien just nodded, not trusting himself to respond coherently. He walked towards her in a sort of trance, unable to take his eyes off her. She held out a hand and he took it automatically without a thought. She led him to her bedside and looked up at Adrien with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Do you want to get undressed?” she asked quietly. Adrien nodded but before he so much as touched a button on his shirt, he leaned down to kissed Marinette. She welcomed him in an embrace and slowly slid her hands up and down his arms.

He pulled away for only a moment to whisper, “You’re so beautiful.” Adrien could feel her shiver under his fingertips. Marinette pulled him back in and as she did, her hands made their way from his shoulders, across his chest and down to his stomach, where she tugged lightly at his shirt. Adrien got the message and started deftly unbuttoning his button down shirt. Marinette helped him slide the shirt over his shoulders and started to caress her fingers across his bare shoulders.

Adrien felt like his skin was alight, burning with adrenaline and emotions he couldn’t find the brainpower to label. He found his body responding to Mari without so much as permission from his brain and he couldn’t bring himself to care. His hands wandered from their purchase on her waist to the small of her back where Adrien started to slip his fingers beneath the hem.

Marinette pulled Adrien in closer at the contact of his fingers against her back and tugged her own shirt off quickly. Adrien was shocked to realize that there was no longer a barrier of any kind, cloth or otherwise, between her chest and his own. He moved his lips across her cheek until he reached her ear.

“Is this what you want princess?”

Marinette nodded and then froze, pulling away and looking at Adrien apprehensively.

“I- Um I don’t really have any condoms.”

Adrien chuckled and reached into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. He pulled out a foil package with a sticker on it and handed it to Marinette.

“Read it.”

Marinette did.

_Guess this means you finally found the girl of your dreams. Don’t fuck it up. Or do…?_

_Happy Birthday,_

_Nino_

Adrien laughed at the expression on Marinette’s face.

“Nino told me I should always be prepared so I’ve kept it in my wallet for such an occasion.”

Marinette laughed too and placed her palm against his cheek. “Are you ready for this?”

Adrien nuzzled her hand and kissed it. “For you princess? I was born ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a less aggressive and angry note, this fic is coming to a close soon and I have some fun ideas on how to approach the end and I can't wait to write them out. I do start back at school this week on top of work so my updates are probably going to continue to be a little spaced out but I swear on my two precious cats that this will be finished before halloween!! As always, comments, feedback and suggestions are always welcome and I appreciate every person that has given this fic the time of day! Thanks!


	22. Domestic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I gotta go and break up with my girlfriend. Call you later.”

Adrien couldn’t stop wondering how he got there. In the arms of a beautiful girl that made his heart race and his breath catch.

Adrien could confirm that his first time did not suck. He, however was attributing that to the fact that Marinette could toss him off her balcony and he’d probably still be happy.

He wasn’t sure what time it was, just that he should’ve been asleep hours ago and he was too busy basking in the warmth that radiated from Marinette. He was softly running his fingers up and down Marinette’s bare shoulder and pressing her back closer to his chest.

Adrien was starting to realize how much he loved skin to skin contact.

…

The next morning, or afternoon rather, when the two of them woke up, it was to the sound of a yowling cat that had taken to sitting on Marinette’s head.

“Tikki,” Marinette groaned. She pushed the ginger tabby to the side and started to sit up before realizing that she was very, very naked. She turned to see Adrien, smiling, eyes still closed with his arms wrapped snugly around her waist. She flushed and started to pull the covers up to her chest, but Adrien pulled her in close, her back flush against his chest.

“Good morning,” he said gruffly. Marinette hated how much she loved his morning voice.

“Morning.” Marinette nuzzled under his chin and placed a hand on his.

“I think your cat is hungry,” Adrien said, chuckling. Marinette rolled her eyes.

“I think my cat is a brat.”

…

After some convincing from Tikki (which just took the form of her screaming), Marinette finally unwrapped herself from Adrien’s arms and put on his shirt from the night before. Adrien stretched, and pulled on his black boxers, following Marinette into the kitchen where she fed Tikki and put on a pot of coffee.

“So what are you doing today?” Adrien asked, leaning up against her counter. Marinette shrugged.

“Probably calling Alya. Kind of a lot happened yesterday and she’s gonna want to know all of it.” Adrien laughed.

“Does this mean you’re gonna divulge all my secrets.”

Marinette smiled. “I’m glad you’re already catching on.”

Marinette poured them both a cup of coffee and opened up her fridge.

“Are you hungry?”

Adrien nodded and Marinette started searching her fridge for anything edible.

“Well… I have eggs and cereal.”

Adrien took a sip of his coffee. “Well I don’t mind cooking the eggs if you want.”

Marinette looked over her shoulder to smile at Adrien. “Would you?”

…

Marinette could get used to hot men in boxers cooking her breakfast. Especially when they sing Jagged Stone obnoxiously and dance around your kitchen. She only stopped laughing when he sat down next to her on the couch to hand her a massive plate of eggs.

“Adrien… how many eggs did you make?”

“Eight, four for me and four for you.”

Marinette laughed again. “That’s way too many. I’ll only eat like 2!”

Adrien smiled cheekily. “Leftovers?”

They bantered as they ate their breakfast on the couch and after they finished eating, Adrien took their plates and put them in the sink. He started to walk back into the living room when he noticed an Xbox controller on the counter.

“Do you play video games?” he asked. Marinette nodded. Adrien picked up the controller and fidgeted with it.

“Yeah, me and Alya play together all the time.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know that. You’ll have to play with me and Nino!”

Marinette grinned evilly. “I don’t know Adrien, we’re pretty hardcore. We’ll kick your ass.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Okay princess you’re on. What’s your gamer tag?”

“Tikkibaby.”

Adrien was quiet for a moment, eyes wide.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

…

Nino was having a good day. He’d been texting his really hot girlfriend, had the day off of work, he’d gone to the gym, he was feeling good. He was minding his own business when his phone started ringing. He checked the caller ID and snickered.

“Hey Adrien what’s-“

“We have to break up with the girls.” There was uncontrollable giggling going on in the background.

“Does that mean you and Marinette started dating?”

“Not anymore.” The giggling was getting louder.

“Can I ask why?” Nino was very confused.

“Well Mari just told me that her and Alya like to play Xbox together.”

“Dude that’s great! Maybe we ca-“

“Nino. It’s them.”

Nino stopped dead in his tracks. He really had been having a good day.

“I gotta go and break up with my girlfriend. Call you later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is short but I wanted a little domestic adrienette and I've already take like 6 chapters to write about one day which seems excessive. Also I know we were all wondering how the boys would feel about finding out the girls have been kicking their ass for the past forever so there's that


	23. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is like... all fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, tis I, and I am not dead, despite the best efforts of my sister (guys I got fucking stabbed. It was an accdient and its a very long story but I am straight up not having a good time). Anyways I was rereading this whole fic that I have written and thinking wow, I'm an asshole and I haven't updated this in months even thought I said I'd finish this before halloween. AND THEN!! I read the last chapter I posted. And good fucking god. What ABSOLUTE FUCKING GARBAGE. I'm so sorry that I put you through reading that, holy fuck. So, as a consolation, I am deleting that chapter from existence and giving you the chapter I SHOULD have fucking written. So please forgive me and read this and pretend like the last chapter never even happened ever

If you had asked Marinette three months ago where she’d be now, she could’ve conjured up a few scenarios.

  1. Living as a disgraced fashion designer in her parent’s attic with only Tikki for company.
  2. Hiding in her office for eternity, in shame after strutting about in lingerie in front of all her peers
  3. Residing under a bridge, muttering unintelligibly about how fringe caused the downfall of the fashion empire.



What she never would have said, is receiving endless commissions from dozens of well-renowned designers, doing the horizontal tango with her boyfriend (Marinette feels its important to note that he’s an ex model and the world’s hottest man), or destroying gender stereotypes with her very best friend.

In short, Marinette was happy.

“Fuck Mari, we’re so close. C’mon baby.”

“Oh god, yes, yes, Yes YES, YES.”

screaming

“I hate them. Remind me why we didn’t break up with them two months ago.”

Nino and Adrien were sprawled on the couch looking defeated. Which they had been, although, Alya and Marinette preferred the term “utterly destroyed”. Her and Marinette were sitting on the floor, celebrating a new K/D record by waving their controllers around wildly and laughing.

Adrien sighed and looked over at his best friend. “Because they’re witches and they cursed us with their stupid bewitching good looks.”

Marinette turned and grinned wickedly up at Adrien.

“Aw, surely you don’t mean that. Besides if anyone here is a witch it’s you. You’re the one with the black cat.”

Adrien rolled his eyes but leaned forward and kissed the top of her head anyway.

Alya stretched before getting to her feet, tapping Nino’s thigh gently.

“Well guys, as much fun as this has been, Nino owes me ice cream. And I don’t think you guys could take me and Mari bruising your ego anymore than we already have.” Nino huffed grumpily but took hold of Alya’s hand anyway.

“See ya dude,” he grumbled.

Adrien only mumbled in response as the couple made their way out the door.

Seconds after the door clicked shut, Marinette was sliding her way into Adrien’s lap, straddling his waist and wrapping her arms around his neck. Adrien looked unfazed, his mock scowl unwavering but Marinette just grinned and shifted closer.

“Aw babe please don’t pout. Aren’t you proud of me? I broke a new record today,” she said innocently.

Adrien dramatically shifted his glance to the ceiling, still scowling, but Marinette didn’t miss the way his hands automatically came to settle on her hips.

Marinette giggled and whispered something in his ear.

While it’s unknow what was actually said, it can be assumed that it was undeniably lewd and likely unrepeatable from the way that Adrien’s eyes widened. Without hesitation, he scooped her up, not even stopping for a second before marching her into his bedroom, Mari giggling uncontrollably all the while.

…

Adrien is not embarrassed to admit that he could stare into Marinette’s eyes for an eternity. The striking contrast against her skin reminded Adrien of sapphires glistening in the snow. As he held her bare form in his arms, he couldn’t help but stare into her big, beautiful, baby blues.

“What are you thinking about princess?” he whispered. Marinette blushed at the eye contact but refused to break it.

“I’m really happy,” she whispered back.

Adrien was struck by her. The way her hair was curling around the pillows, the way her hands were pressed against his chest. The way her chapped rosy lips were parted, slight and plump. God, it wasn’t just her eyes he could stare at for an eternity.

Adrien smiled tenderly and kissed her forehead. “I’m glad.”

Marinette’s face flashed for a moment with something that disappeared to quick for Adrien to identify and he cocked his head slightly.

“Adrien?” Marinette asked tentatively. “Is something wrong?”

Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed and he reached out to brush a strand of hair out of Marinette’s face.

“Why do you ask?”

His eyes never wavered from Marinette’s and she let it encourage her. Taking a deep breath, she answered.

“It’s just… I feel like you’ve been- sad lately. Sometimes you just look like you’re so far away and I noticed you’ve been really anxious lately. I tried to help a little, ya know, hoping you just needed to destress from work or something but I feel like there’s something else.”

Adrien was quiet for a moment and Marinette sat patiently, watching his eyes search for something in hers. And then, Adrien was kissing her very softly. When he pulled back, Mari watched his expression take on that same melancholic look as he stared back at her.

“You’re amazing. I should’ve known there was no hiding from you princess.”

Marine smiled back a little sadly. “This is no time to be cheesy.”

Adrien chuckled and pulled Marinette into his chest.

“You don’t have to tell me if you aren’t ready,” she mumbled against him. Adrien sighed.

“No, I should talk to you about it. It’s cheaper than therapy.” Marinette’s muffled laugh tickled his chest.

“I- I don’t like the way I left things with my father. It’s- I know I don’t really owe him anything but there’s a part of me that’s always gonna wanna make him happy and it makes me anxious to know he’s upset with me. Even if he did deserve all those things I said.” Adrien suddenly felt uncomfortably vulnerable and he let himself curl in on Marinette.

“He’s my only family,” he whispered. Marinette could feel Adrien’s chest start to tremble and she peaked her head out a little, looking into her boyfriend’ crumpling face, putting on as encouraging a smile as she could possible muster.

“Well there’s always Felix.”

A couple things happened. First and most importantly, Adrien’s face immediatlety straightened out into a smile until he was laughing uncontrollably. Second, he flipped Marinette onto her back so that she was completely and utterly exposed. And third, Adrien took full advantage of this to tickle her relentlessly until she was choking on air in a fit of giggles.

When Adrien finally let up so that they could both breathe, he lowered himself down so that he was resting on his elbows, still on top of Marinette. They panted loudly and Adrien grinned down at Marinette as an overwhelming realization hit him. He was in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's good news and bad news. The good news is that finals are approaching and when I finish with school this semester my free time will literally triple, even with me picking up extra hours at work. The bad news is that I will not update again until finals are over (in roughly two weeks) because I have four projects and one exam to complete and holy fuck they're gonna be rough. So please hang tight and thank you so much for keeping up with this story guys I can't believe this story did as well as it is and I'm unbelievably grateful!


	24. I Bet My Embarrassing Thing Is More Embarrassing Than Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration is a powerful thing. And be glad that it is friends because I have just written a masterpiece. Is it possible that this is 4 am hysteria talking? Maybe. But who am I to look a gimp horse in the mouth or whatever the fuck it is that old people say.

Marinette has done a lot of embarrassing things in her life. Between her distinct lack of coordination, her awkward disposition and the need to use her hands when telling elaborate and dramatic stories, Marinette can honestly admit that she embarrasses herself frequently.

But this really takes the cake.

It started, as it usually does, with good intentions. After her pillow talk with Adrien, Marinette made it her mission to do whatever she could to lift his spirits at any given moment. She’d brought him flowers to work, took him to her parents bakery to satiate his need for chocolate passionfruit macaroons (he’d very unceremoniously admitted that they were better than sex, when they got into the car, which resulted in Marinette hitting him with the bag of treats her parents had packed for her), she’d even started sending him disgustingly sweet messages throughout the day which rivaled the ones he’d been sending her since day one.

If you asked Marinette, she’d say the whole thing was really Alya’s fault.

“Alya what do you do to cheer Nino up when he’s upset?”

Alya hadn’t even bothered to look up from her phone to answer.

“Send him nudes.” As if on cue, she angled her phone to take a selfie of her winking and throwing up a peace sign.

Marinette choked.

“What??” she cried, incredulously.

Alya rolled her eyes.

“Jesus Marinette, you’re such a prude. I happen to know you have a very active sex life. I don’t know why you’re so weirded out about taking naked pictures.”

Marinette found she had no response.

…

Adrien was relieved that Marinette was not a crazy jealous girlfriend. But likely, not for the reason you’re thinking. He was relieved, because since his revelation following some emotionally tumultuous pillow talk, he’d since changed Marinette’s contact name to “My Love” and he was happy to be free of the worry that she’d go through his phone and find it.

At least, not before he had the courage to tell her. Perhaps courage wasn’t really the right word. Adrien was looking for the right time. Adrien was a romantic at heart and he wanted it to be something memorable and spectacular, partially at least, so that Marinette would feel inclined to say it back.

He hadn’t overlooked Marinette’s sweet attempts to lift his spirits. And he would freely admit that it was making his feelings stronger. Just maybe not out loud.

Adrien was at home when the whole thing happened, lounging in his Cat Noir pajamas (merch from an old comic he’d been obsessed with as a child... Or was still obsessed with. Unimportant).

The familiar ringtone of “My Love” played melodically throughout the apartment and Adrien couldn’t help but smile sweetly at the screen before he answered.

There was a brief calm before the storm, silence brought on by poor connection. And then-

“Adrien!”

At least Adrien’s pretty sure that’s what she said. It was hard to tell, what with all the crying.

“Marinette are you okay? Are you hurt?” Adrien asked, panicking.

More crying.

“Princess, do you want me to come get you? Where are you?”

There was a loud gasp, which Adrien assumed was a breath, before the sobbing started again, along with some unintelligible sounds that Adrien thought was meant to be words.

“Princess I need you to calm down. I can’t understand you. Whatever it is, it’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

There’s some more gasping, and then what sounds like very deep breaths.

“Adrien, I fucked up.”

…

When the whole thing is over, Marinette is grateful for a few things.

First and foremost, she’s grateful that she only has her closest friends and family on Snapchat.

Second, she’s grateful that these friends and family are very accepting and understanding.

And finally, she’s grateful that her boyfriend is probably the most amazing person on the entire fucking planet.

Marinette is currently staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. She has very minimal makeup on that she’d applied for work earlier that morning, which had fared surprisingly well despite the wear and tear of a particularly long day. She is also, completely and utterly naked.

At this point Marinette is mostly over the whole being shy about her body thing- in regard to Adrien at least. At this point, he’s seen it all. But there was something especially intimate about taking a nude picture that made Marinette nervous. After giving herself a pep talk, which she’d admittedly imagined in Alya’s voice, Marinette did it. She posed, she snapped and she edited a picture. She saved it to her phone (it was a pretty a good picture) and once she’d sent it, she took a breath of relief and put on her robe.

After this particularly long day, she wanted nothing more than to lounge in her bed and relax. That was, apparently, too much to ask.

When she felt her phone vibrate, Marinette assumed it was a notification from Adrien. She was surprised to see that it was actually a snapchat from Luka.

It wasn’t entirely uncommon for her to receive occasional snaps or texts from him, they were still relatively good friends. But then she received another notification from Alix. And then another one from Rose. All on Snapchat.

“What the hell,” Marinette muttered to herself. She opened her Snapchat and decided to open Luka’s first.

It was a response to something Marinette had put on her story. Her eyes went to the text before she looked at the picture he was commenting on.

**Mari, I don’t think you meant to post this…**

Marinette frowned clicked on the photo to take a closer look and it took her a minute to realize what she was looking at. Marinette screeched and threw her phone in a fit of panic.

_Oh my god. Oh my god, this can’t be happening. Oh my god. Oh no… Fuck I have to take it down._

Marinette scrambled out of bed to pick up the discarded phone from the floor and tapped at it aggressively until she got to her story. She swiped up.

_Oh god, seven people have already seen it, oh fuck._

Marinette tapped on the little trash icon three times before it was successfully deleted. Once she confirmed its erasure, she scrolled back over to see what Alix and Rose had said.

**Alix**

**👀** **Is this your way of announcing you’re going premium or….?**

_Fuck!!!_

Marinette looked at the next one.

**Rose**

**Hey girl, you look totally bomb but I don’t think you meant to post this here** **😅**

Marinette started to hyperventilate a little bit.

_Oh god Adrien’s gonna be so mad. And my ex-boyfriend saw it. Oh my god. I can’t believe this. I’m gonna die. Oh fuck. Oh no._

Tears started to slip down her cheeks.

_I have to call him. I have to tell him. Oh god I hope he doesn’t break up with me. Oh no._

Marinette pulled out her phone with a shaky hand and dialed his number.

…

Hopefully you’ve figured out by now that Adrien did not break up with her. He’s ashamed to admit, that after Marinette told him what happened, he’d had to put himself on mute so she wouldn’t hear him laughing. When he finally calmed down enough to compose himself- which was rather quick because the silence at the other end of the phone was enough to make Marinette start to hyperventilate again- he immediately began to comfort her.

“Mari, please calm down, I promise I’m not mad. It was an accident.”

Adrien spent about five minutes using reassuring phrases like, “now some of your friends know just how beautiful you really are” and “It’s all gonna be okay, everyone will forget that even happened” until Marinette finally stopped crying.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, only the sounds of Marinette’s sniffling before Adrien dared to ask the thing he’d been wondering since he’d learned about the whole fiasco.

“So… did you save the picture before you deleted it?” Marinette didn’t respond at first.

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Marinette deadpanned.

“What? So all your friends get to see it but I don’t? That’s no fair. It was meant for me,” Adrien said defensively.

“Adrien Agreste, I don’t believe in violence but I will not hesitate to hit you with a sack of burnt baguettes.”

Adrien couldn’t contain his laughter anymore. Adrien felt his phone vibrate against his face and he pulled it away, curiosity written across his face.

**My Love**

**1 Image Attached**

“I’m only sending this to you because you are being really sweet about this whole thing and you made me feel better,” Marinette grumbled. Adrien felt his heartbeat quicken as he put Marinette on speaker, and he opened up the message.

He felt his breath catch.

“Mari… do you think I could come over?”

…

Hours later, the two snuggled up in each other’s arms, Adrien could tell Marinette was still distraught about the whole thing. All he wanted was to brighten her mood the way that she did for him every day.

With a sigh, Adrien tapped on her arm gently.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick princess,” he whispered. She only nodded and let him go.

Out of habit, Adrien plucked up his phone and headed into her bathroom. Once he finished his business and went to the sink to wash his hands Adrien glanced at himself in the same mirror Marinette had taken that beautiful picture hours before. As he stared back at his own naked body, Adrien had an amazing idea.

Personally, Adrien had gotten over any shyness about his body years ago. In regard to everyone. Unfortunately he had been drafted into a bit of nude modeling during his time and though the goods had been carefully edited or covered, Adrien still had to bare himself for a team of stylists, photographers, and directors.

When he walked back into the bedroom, he had a mischievous grin on his face that Marinette noticed immediately.

“What?” she questioned cautiously. She was wrapped up in a sheet, head still lying on her pillow while the rest of her body was curled in on herself.

“I figured out how to make you feel better!” Adrien exclaimed. Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“How?” her suspicious tone remained.

“Check my story!” Adrien said. Marinette pulled out her own phone and stole nervous glances at Adrien as she navigated her way back into her Snapchat to see whatever it is that Adrien is so anxious for her to see.

When she clicks the on his icon to view his story, it takes a few seconds to load, but when it finally pops up, she sees what he’s so proud of. It’s a picture of Adrien, in front of her bathroom mirror, in the exact same pose she’d used in her own picture, completely naked.

It might be the most ridiculous thing Marinette has ever seen.

Marinette can’t hold back the eruption of giggles that escape from her.

“Adrien what the hell is wrong with you, people are gonna see that!” She is still laughing as she shouts at her boyfriend, throwing pillows at him.

Adrien pulls out his phone with a grin, where there’s already at least half a dozen Snapchat notifications.

“They already have!” Marinette looks back at him with wide eyes.

“Well take it down you blockhead! Oh my god, I can’t believe you just did that!” Marinette is both red from laughing and the secondhand embarrassment she can’t help but feel for her stupid boyfriend.

Adrien, still laughing, conceded. “All right, I’m taking it down princess hold on.” He does and Marinette is still staring at him with an incredulous look in her eye.

“What were you thinking?!” She exclaims. Adrien smiles at her in a way that can only be described as endearing.

“Because, its funny. And I didn’t want you to feel embarrassed alone! See how hard I just made you laugh? It’s not a big deal.”

Marinette looked back at Adrien with her incredulous smile as the overwhelming realization hit her. She was in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I can't take 100% of the creative credit here. This happened to my friend (not the cute boyfriend part thats all me) and I was thinking about it today in the shower (don't make it weird, I just think a lot) and I LITERALLY STOPPED SHAVING MID LEG. I want you to think about that for a moment. MID FUCKING LEG, and I got the inspiration. I have never jumped out of a goddamn shower so fuckin fast. I literally wrote this whole fucking thing in a towel because I was scared I'd forget this whole idea! Also, I was so excited about this chapter I kind of rushed the editing so please feel free to hit me with the foolish mistakes I likely made. ANyway, I need to get back in the shower to finish shaving my leg. Thank you and good night.


End file.
